FORT COLLINS – Abound Solar's problems with solar panels extended beyond the manufacturing floor to the installation of defective solar arrays at a number of locations, according to people who installed and bought the defunct company's panels.

The Rocky Mountain Innosphere, among others, had Abound Solar's panels installed on the awning and roofs of its covered parking but needed them replaced after they started cracking, said Ryan Daniel, the Fort Collins technology incubator's building manager.

"It was a flaw in design that's not due to anything other than the way that they were designed," Daniel said.

Abound Solar, which was founded in 2007, has never publicly acknowledged problems with its panels. However, the company's 2011 quarterly reports to the U.S. Department of Energy revealed a series of production issues, as reported in the Nov. 2-15 issue of the Business Report.

The Innosphere's experience is believed to be one of the first reports shedding light on Abound Solar's faulty panels.

Abound's collapse has drawn much attention because it drew down $70 million on a $400 million loan guarantee from the energy department before it declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July. As a