http://gigaom.com/cleantech/blue-square-energy-turns-to-%e2%80%9csurvival-plan%e2%80%9d-to-stay-afloat/ Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:27:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://gigaom.com/cleantech/blue-square-energy-turns-to-%e2%80%9csurvival-plan%e2%80%9d-to-stay-afloat/#comment-24515 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:01:20 +0000 http://earth2tech.com/?p=35938#comment-24515 [...] If the PV industry really has turned the corner, it hasn’t come without a lot of pain. This year solar cell manufacturing capacity grew more than 50 percent to reach a 17 GW capacity, leading to a dramatic oversupply (as much as 60 percent, according to DisplaySearch). With the market awash in solar cells, PV system prices plunged more than 25 percent, and in the first half of this year, “most solar cell manufacturers” were losing money, the research firm said. Many responded by shuttering older production lines or delaying ramp-up and new investments. Global leader Q-Cells, for example, said it was shutting down four of its less-productive lines in Germany while slowing the ramp-up of new Malaysian lines. Many solar startups have also suffered, such as North East, Md.-based Blue Square Energy, which turned to solar systems integration earlier this year to stay afloat. [...]

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