I have a lot of respect for Suntech, one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the world. It is one of the few exceptions I will make in my distain for Chinese products.
China has a lot of great products. But the moment you ship them half across the globe in gas guzzling tankers the products become a big contributor to wasted energy and petrochemical dependence.
Bamboo is great but not justified. Chinese tiles are great but not justified. Chinese plumbing, also great, but not justified. The list is long if great products that have a better alternative found locally.
But I have a personal fondness for Suntech and make an exception. Their innovation is so great and their commitment to affordable solar is so clear that I really like them.
This is despite the really wonderful company in our back yard: Evergreen Solar. They are also amazing. But we’ve not crossed paths like I have with Suntech.
What really caught me about Suntech was an article about their founder and it was clear that he has a vision that goes beyond simply making more money for his investors. From what I can tell he sees it as a moral imperative to make ecological power available and affordable and he is doing it on a scale like no other.
I can totally relate to that. Eco Brooklyn is all about that. Build It Forward is all about that.
So I was beyond happy when Colin Mitchell dropped by our Brooklyn Green Show house today unannounced for a tour of the house. It turns out he is the local distributor for Suntech and had heard about the show house and happened to be in the neighborhood….It was like your favorite band dropping by to play a few tunes in your front yard.
The synchronicity of it was great since just this morning we hired a solar pv and thermal installer in anticipation of the many Brooklyn brownstones that need those services.
Anyway, having fun in Brooklyn as the green building zeitgeist gathers momentum. There are so many passionate people in the Brooklyn green building movement and we are finding each other, realizing there actually is a movement, and a powerful one at that.