Looking for 20-30kW of bifacial panels, anyone have an Alibaba supplier to recommend?

[ikidd]

I'm in Canada, finding the shipping cost from US to purchase overly expensive panels a little more than I expected. I have dealt with Alibaba in the past to varying success, but I'm wondering if anyone has used a supplier from there recently and could recommend one.

I'm looking for bifacial panels (snow) and they can be any size, just wanting to get something that works well in cold climate.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I struggle to contemplate ordering something like panels from Alibaba. If you do so, make sure you compare area of the panel to the claimed Watts, and ensure Vmp * Imp = claimed Watts.

Approximate wattage of a panel is Area in meters * 200W/m^2, i.e., a 2m^2 panel should be about 400W.

 

[ikidd]

Fair enough, I appreciate the pointer. I'm just finding all things being equal, that the panels come from china, everyone seems to mark them up about 100% (if the Ali listings are to be believed) and then charge 25% on top of all that to ship them a quarter of the distance.

I honestly expect to be left out in the cold for warranty because every time I've bought electronics from an American reseller, I'm left trying to contact a manufacturer for warranty anyway.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Fair enough, I appreciate the pointer. I'm just finding all things being equal, that the panels come from china, everyone seems to mark them up about 100% (if the Ali listings are to be believed) and then charge 25% on top of all that to ship them a quarter of the distance.

I honestly expect to be left out in the cold for warranty because every time I've bought electronics from an American reseller, I'm left trying to contact a manufacturer for warranty anyway.

In the U.S., 4 years ago, I paid $154 EA delivered for 330W poly panels from https://www.thesolarbiz.com/. We purchased two full pallets split across three of us.

I would exhaust all North American supply options before I consider Alibaba. If you can order a full pallet worth, shipping per module gets pretty reasonable.

 

[brum]

Look for reputable brands. Like Jinko Solar, Longi Solar or Canadian Solar. As long as you get good offer, you should be good to go.

Make sure to compare the cost with local suppliers.

 

[ikidd]

I've been focusing on Canadian Solar as they seem like the most reasonably priced in the US for bifacials, but it's still twice the price I'm seeing on AB and the shipping is $1000/pallet, at least from Signature, which seems ridiculous when I got 2 pallets of batteries for $496 from about the same distance. If I could arrange my own shipping I"m sure it would be more reasonable, but that doesn't seem to be an option with them, presumably because it's another form of markup.

 

[Bluedog225]

I thought canadian solar was, you know, canadian. No?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Chinadian

 

[brum]

I thought canadian solar was, you know, canadian. No?

No .

 

[SamDeleted]

I've been focusing on Canadian Solar as they seem like the most reasonably priced in the US for bifacials, but it's still twice the price I'm seeing on AB and the shipping is $1000/pallet, at least from Signature, which seems ridiculous when I got 2 pallets of batteries for $496 from about the same distance. If I could arrange my own shipping I"m sure it would be more reasonable, but that doesn't seem to be an option with them, presumably because it's another form of markup.

$1000 a pallet is ridiculous!

 

[XO4001]

All I can say is be careful dealing with China suppliers.
I ordered a pallet of 330W Greensun panels shipped to the Bahamas.
The pallet get dumped in the US and they charged me almost $1000 for shipping and handling to the Bahamas.
Once installed next to my Peimar 300W panels in the same plane they produce slightly less than my 300W.
I bought 330W and get 290W.

 

[KauaiMolokai]

I'm in Canada, finding the shipping cost from US to purchase overly expensive panels a little more than I expected. I have dealt with Alibaba in the past to varying success, but I'm wondering if anyone has used a supplier from there recently and could recommend one.

I'm looking for bifacial panels (snow) and they can be any size, just wanting to get something that works well in cold climate.

Hi Ikidd,
You’re asking the right question - find someone who has bought recently. Be patient until you get a reply from such a person.
You might consider posting an RDQ on AliBaba. Be aware of the pitfalls - shipping costs and hazards, delays, customs hassles, minimum quantities required. It gets to be a significant amount of work, which is why North American resellers get away with huge mark ups.
If you have access to trucks you might also consider doing your own shipping from North American suppliers if you can deal with border hassles.
Definitely many challenges
Good luck.

 

[ikidd]

Hi Ikidd,
You’re asking the right question - find someone who has bought recently. Be patient until you get a reply from such a person.
You might consider posting an RDQ on AliBaba. Be aware of the pitfalls - shipping costs and hazards, delays, customs hassles, minimum quantities required. It gets to be a significant amount of work, which is why North American resellers get away with huge mark ups.
If you have access to trucks you might also consider doing your own shipping from North American suppliers if you can deal with border hassles.
Definitely many challenges
Good luck.

If I can arrange my own shipping, I have a 24' box truck to pick up at a dock. I'm definitely aware of the dangers of chinese supplier "excuses" as I used to ship LED lights by the pallet before everyone and their dog started to offer them around here.

I did contact a Bluesun sales engineer based on a recommendation from a user that DMd me here, the response was pretty generic, with no pricing on the panels or the shipping. She suggested shipping the 550s out of the Long Beach warehouse but there's nothing on the website about actual prices or purchasing. I'm waiting on a response with some actual details about how to go about purchasing these if the prices line up. I'm guessing it's all handled via DM like that.

One thing she mentioned was restrictions about sending the 700W panels from their China warehouse as per anti-dumping rules that Canada has. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I'm looking into it. I would love feedback from anyone that's tried to ship solar panels in from China as regards this sort of thing.

I do have a customs broker I work with occasionally that seems to navigate this sort of thing well, perhaps I'll contact them. I've only ever used them for US border but perhaps they do China as well.

 

[ikidd]

All I can say is be careful dealing with China suppliers.
I ordered a pallet of 330W Greensun panels shipped to the Bahamas.
The pallet get dumped in the US and they charged me almost $1000 for shipping and handling to the Bahamas.
Once installed next to my Peimar 300W panels in the same plane they produce slightly less than my 300W.
I bought 330W and get 290W.

I can certainly appreciate the dangers, which is why I"m hoping to find someone that's dealt with a supplier recently that can give a thumbs-up on their experience. As with anything, one also has to consider the source of the recommendations. I'd love someone with a good background on this site to say "hey, use these guys, they won't screw you over", especially if they were Canadian to cover off the different import regimes.

 

[OffGridForGood]

No .

There are some Canadian Solar like the 340W panels made in Ontario, and some others made in Quebec, most are made in Asia.
I bought my panels a few at a time, so used Canadian suppliers.
When the first set arrived with one broken panel (at the bottom of the stack from a fork lift monkey) the company (Solar Power Store in Orangeville) promptly replaced it for free.
I had great experience with Off-Grid BC supplying me panels for my car-port.
I have to date purchased three inverters and five sets of battery cells from overseas, and all has gone well.
I would be interested how a full pallet of 30-ish panels from China goes, ie the cost, the product matching expectations and any damage during the long trip/replacements. Personnally I would stick to N.American suppliers for PV but that is me.

 

[brum]

I thought that the production was moved to China. I may be wrong.

And yes, the company was founded in Canada. But all I've seen as solar panels here (Bulgaria) was made in China.

 

[Plum Crazy Rob]

Also CS production in Thailand, these panels are 2022 vintage

I would be interested to know if the CS3U bifacial panels SS now sells in 2023 (dammit lol ?) are also Thailand.

 

[OffGridForGood]

I thought that the production was moved to China. I may be wrong.

And yes, the company was founded in Canada. But all I've seen as solar panels here (Bulgaria) was made in China.

The company has manufacturing plants all over the world, I have seen listed plants in Brazil, Indonesia, China, Germany etc etc. There are two plants in Ontario. Head office is in Guelph Ontario, 545 Speedvale Ave.

 

[Shimmy]

...and the shipping is $1000/pallet, at least from Signature, which seems ridiculous when I got 2 pallets of batteries for $496 from about the same distance.

My guess is the shipping cost is assuming breakage of 1-2 panels. Unfortunately that is part of the reality.

I haven't priced panels from CED Greentech yet, but I am guessing the $30/panel shipping cost is still cheaper than a traditional supply house. Alibaba Adds a few extra dimensions of risk-- build quality, capacity, fraud, shipping time, etc. Since you can't do any quality control prior to shipping the risk all ends up on you. That markup has some value.

 

[brum]

The company has manufacturing plants all over the world, I have seen listed plants in Brazil, Indonesia, China, Germany etc etc. There are two plants in Ontario. Head office is in Guelph Ontario, 545 Speedvale Ave.

Thanks for the details. This is good to know.

And by the way - my CS panels perform better than the Jinko with almost identical specs (535W for the Jinko and 540W for the CS).