2011 was a difficult year for solar manufacturers, and don’t expect 2012 to get much better. Lux Research’s Matt Feinstein pens a predictive article for PV Magazine looking at the top solar companies he thinks will struggle in the near term:
- 1). Nanosolar
- 2). Solopower
- 3). Abound Solar
- 4). Solarworld
- 5). Oerlikon
- 6). Suntech Power
Yikes. A week ago power electronics maker, Satcon Technology, announced it will lay off 35 percent of its workers and shut down its factory in Canada. That news followed reports that Silicon Valley solar panel maker GlobalWatt canceled a plan for a solar factory in Michigan.
And in case you’ve forgotten in the New Year’s fog, here’s the solar makers that shuttered or closed factories in 2011:
| Company | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BP Solar | Announces it’s shutting down | December 2011 |
| Energy Conversion Devices | Announces temporary suspension of all factories | November 2011 |
| Evergreen Solar | Declares bankruptcy | August 2011 |
| MEMC Electronic Materials | Idles one factory | December 2011 |
| REC | Cuts silicon wafer production in Norway | January 2012 |
| Satcon Technology | Closes inverter factory in Canada | January 2012 |
| Schott Solar | Closes cell factory in Germany | December 2011 |
| Solar Millennium | Files for insolvency | December 2011 |
| Solland Solar | Exits cell production | January 2012 |
| Solon | Shuts down U.S. factory. Declared insolvency. | December 2011 |
| SolarWorld | Shuts U.S. factory | September 2011 |
| Solyndra | Declares bankruptcy | August 2011 |
| SpectraWatt | Firesale for $4.9 million | September 2011 |
| Stirling Energy Systems | Declares bankruptcy | September 2011 |

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