From BusinessGreen.com, part of the Guardian Environment NetworkFears that the
solar industry will prove less resilient to the global recession than other renewable
energy sectors appear increasingly well founded this week after three leading solar firms posted sizable losses.However, experts maintain that there are already signs of recovery on the horizon, while some solar outfits continue to record impressive growth despite a slump in the price of solar panels.The bad news was led by German manufacturer Q-Cells, the world's second-largest producer of solar panels, which announced yesterday that it is to lay off 500 jobs after recording an operating loss of €47.6m (£41m) during the first half of the year.The company reported that sales for the first six months of the year fell more than 36 per cent year on year to €366.2m, while overall losses soared to almost €700m after the company undertook a write-down of more than €600m from the sale of its shares in solar firm Renewable Energy Corporation.Q-Cells said it was embarking on a major restructuring exercise
designed to cut production costs by 25 per cent and increase its focus on emerging thin-film solar cells. Under the plan, about 500 staff are to be made redundant while the company will also shut down its older production lines at its factory in Thalheim.The company's management said it would also increase its focus on its thin-film subsidiaries Solibro and Calyxo, adding that it had requested that Calyxo proves its technological potential in mass production by the end of this year.Several of Q-Cells' main rivals fared only a little better this week, with
China-based ReneSola and JA Solar both posting second-quarter losses of $3.6m and $28.5m respectively.After scaling up rapidly in response to strong demand during 2007 and early 2008, falling demand has seen the solar market hit by a glut of silicon, the raw material used in most panels, and solar panels themselves. As a result, silicon prices have ...
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