Watch out for those Bad Apples (and Cabbages)

Perhaps it’s a testament to the potential strength of the solar market that, like any industry that shows signs of growth and consumer take-up, it’s beginning to attract some less desirable elements.

That’s an opening that definitely needs to be explained. Let’s use the example of the great cabbage patch kid hoax at the height of consumer hysteria over that obnoxious toy: in a media announcement, would-be doll purchasers were instructed to present themselves at a certain public venue at a pre-arranged time and, when a special aircraft flew overhead, to hold up their credit cards for airborne inspection. The purchases would be duly recorded, and dolls would be promptly shipped to the desperate (and decidedly gullible) parents.

What’s the connection, I hope you’re asking, to the output of the solar industry? Simply that both are examples of products experiencing a huge surge of interest concentrated into a short period of time. In the case of the doleful-faced dolls, this may have been caused by parental fear of an unsatisfied child at Christmas; with solar installations, it’s been occasioned by the abrupt escalation in energy prices, the possible discontinuation of federal clean energy tax credits at year’s end, and—in certain states—more enlightened rebate/assistance policies for homeowners investing in solar power. The point of the illustration is to show how a sudden spike of demand over supply can lead to consumers being less diligent than they should be when evaluating suppliers. And that’s when the ‘less desirable elements’—the hoaxers and/or scam artists—can enter the picture. (more…)