MX Solar USA, a manufacturer of solar panels in Somerset, N.J., has publicly disclosed its founding role in the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM). The company currently has 65 MW of annual solar panel production capacity.
For several months after SolarWorld and its coalition filed an anti-dumping complaint and countervailing-duty petition against China last October, SolarWorld was the sole public face of the trade action; the other six companies maintained anonymity.
Earlier this month, Wisconsin-based Helios Solar Works became the first CASM member (other than SolarWorld) to reveal its participation as one of the petitioners.
Now, MX Solar has taken a public stand against what it believes are anti-competitive trade practices by the Chinese solar sector.
‘What China is doing really does negatively affect everyone,’ says Elijah Sonnier, MX's quality manager. ‘Essentially, China is trying to corner the market. They corner the market and push everyone else out, and then they set their own prices.’
Sonnier notes that these conditions have led to the layoff of several employees atMX Solar. After reaching a high employment mark of 120 workers, the company is temporarily limiting staffing to essential employees.
