The bankruptcies, losses and production cuts of German photovoltaic companies show the dire state the country’s solar industry is in. An enquiry made by the Die Linke political party revealed there are only around 87,000 jobs in the PV sector and sales figures have also shrunk drastically. The ongoing EEG discussions are, however, not responsible for the turmoil, according to the federal government.

Financial experts shocked not by the Conergy insolvency but by how long it took the Hamburg company to file insolvency proceedings. The Hamburg state prosecutor had filed charges against former Conergy executives two years ago.

The management board of the inverter manufacturer for photovoltaic systems is still unable to rule out a loss for the current financial year. Thus there will presumably be further layoffs at SMA.

The Federation of German Industry (BDI) and the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA) have warned of the loss of thousands of jobs in Germany if the EU Commission imposes anti-dumping duties on photovoltaic products imported from China, according to a local newspaper.

In the first three months of this year the Bosch subsidiary suffered an almost 60% decline in sales compared with 2012. EBIT loss even nearly doubled and increased to more than €16 million.

A total of 1,000 jobs are reportedly at risk at the German inverter manufacturer. SMA has not confirmed concrete figures, but it confessed that the board is evaluating such urgently needed measures.

The photovoltaic inverter manufacturer is currently searching for new business models. The firm’s chief executive, Pierre Pascal Urbon, aims to reposition SMA as an energy management company.

The Korean conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries has withdrawn its shares from the joint venture Korean Advanced Materials, which manufactures polysilicon, according to a local media report. The sustained downturn in the photovoltaic industry has been blamed for the decision.

Due to a third-party application, insolvency proceedings for Sunways are now officially open. The 100% wholly-owned subsidiary in Arnstadt, Germany is also affected.

Centrosolar Group AG announced yesterday that it has sold its subsidiary Centrosolar Glas GmbH to Belgian solar glass manufacturer Ducatt NV for a symbolic price, as part of its restructuring program, according to a company statement.