SolarWorld

The PV manufacturer plans to pay off the high-interest ‘mezzanine loan’ with revenue from its residential lease portfolio.

At a creditors’ meeting, important decisions have been made regarding the future of the ailing German solar module manufacturer. The creditors have decided to discontinue the loss-making business at the end of September, providing no investor can be found by then.

At the end of the week the production line of the insolvent German PV manufacturer will be closed down. Its insolvency administrator wants to continue paying salaries until the end of September, as he sees good prospects for the acquisition of Solarworld’s cell production facilities.

Shortly before the announcement of its acquisition by SunPower, SolarWorld’s former U.S. subsidiary commented on the request by its competitors to be exempt from the new U.S. solar PV import tariffs.

The two biggest names in the solar trade fight will now be one company. SunPower will again be a U.S. manufacturer, and SolarWorld will begin producing P-Series modules.

Production is ongoing, despite the solar PV manufacturer’s recently announced insolvency proceedings. Starting this week, solar modules will be delivered to customers in France, Kuwait, Japan, Sri Lanka and Germany. SolarWorld is also seeking new investors.

Chinese module manufacturer, JA Solar has issued a statement refuting assertions made by SolarWorld in hearings conducted last year, which were reported last week in the findings of United States Trade Representative (USTR) report into Chinese practices related to intellectual property.

Roughly seven months after its new beginning, the German solar PV manufacturer has again filed for insolvency at the District Court of Bonn – the second time in one year. SolarWorld blames the planned phasing out of anti-dumping measures by the EU Commission against Chinese competition and the further drop in prices.

Creditors will allow SolarWorld Americas to borrow more than US$5 million. This should bring operations up to full capacity in the coming months.

The Vietnamese authorities have submitted a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to request formal consultations with Washington over its recently announced 30% tariff on crystalline silicon PV imports.