Kiwa ordered to rectify solar panel statement

Independent certification agency Kiwa has been ordered to rectify a press release about solar panels, after it emerged one of the experts it quoted was also a solar panel supplier, Nos television said on Monday.

Kiwa published a press release on its website in February which said many makes of solar panels are of poor quality, and quoting what it said was an ‘independent’ expert, a company called Mr Sunshine. The press release also recommended consumers only buy solar panels with a Kiwa certificate.

However, it later transpired Mr Sunshine is also a supplier of solar panels, a fact which led a rival company to take Kiwa to court.

The court ruled Kiwa had disadvantaged the complainant, by describing a competitor as an independent expert. The certification agency was ordered to rectify its earlier statement or face a fine of €1,000 a day.

 

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