Nellis solar panels are made in China, N.Y. lawmaker charges

WASHINGTON -- A New York congressman protective of U.S. solar panel makers complained to the military Tuesday that Chinese-manufactured panels are being used to produce power at Nellis Air Force Base.

"Nellis uses Chinese panels. If our goal is to become energy independent, I believe we should be relying on American-made panels," Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., told Air Force leaders at a budget hearing.

Suntech Power Holdings, based in Jiangsu province in China, supplied a part of the solar arrays on the 140-acre field at Nellis, which provides more than 14 megawatts of electricity.

It once was the largest solar photovoltaic array in the United States and still is the largest on a military installation.

Hinchey said the Air Force does not technically own the panels, which allows it to skirt "Buy American" requirements in a 2011 federal defense law.

The lawmaker, who represents the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, wrote a provision signed into law in 2011 requiring solar panels bought by the Defense Department to have been made in the United States.

In 2007, Hinchey organized a solar energy consortium to develop the industry in the state and has supported it through earmarks and other legislation.

In response to Hinchey, Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley said that the Nellis project predated the "Buy American" requirement and that the service would follow the law "going forward."

As for the solar panels at Nellis, Donley said: "There is a possibility they are Chinese, but most of the panels were probably built in the Philippines."

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau reporter Peter Urban at purban@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760.