Unisolar files for bankruptcy
The US manufacturer of thin film has filed for bankruptcy, and the parent company Energy Conversion Devices plans to sell its subsidiary – but keep the patents.
Another solar firm has run out of money – this time, United Solar Ovonic (Unisolar) of Auburn Hills, Michigan. The US manufacturer of flexible thin-film modules was taken down when its parent company, Energy Conversion Devices (ECD), filed for bankruptcy itself yesterday. ECD president Julian Hawkins says the subsidiary also had to file for bankruptcy because the Group's financial position would prevent Unisolar from making the investments necessary for future business.
But unlike Solyndra, Solar Millennium and Solon, all of whom went out of business last year, Unisolar will continue production. The firm is to be sold within the next 90 days to Quarton Partners of Birmingham, Michigan. Hawkins stated that sales process launched yesterday would allow ECD to maximize value for its shareholders and ensure that Unisolar remains viable and successful over the long term. Nonetheless, the parent company will retain the nearly 70 patents that its subsidiary holds in the US.
Hawkins says he is still optimistic about Unisolar's future. "We are convinced that there is a strong, sustainable market for Unisolar products," he explains, adding that "flexible next-generation photovoltaic modules from United Solar Ovonic with an efficiency of 12 percent are the result of 25 years of experience in photovoltaics." But it remains to be seen whether production costs will actually be competitive. Last year, the firm began to stumble – after all, the price is crucial on the thin-film market in particular.
Unfortunately, Unisolar's production costs rose twofold in Q2 2011 even as prices for thin-film modules dropped by 20 percent. Nonetheless, 2012 got off to a pretty good start for Unisolar; the firm supplied modules for a 2.6 megawatt solar array on the roof of the new production plant for the Boeing 787 Dreamline in North Charleston, South Carolina. The array, which is one of the largest roof systems in the US, was hooked up to the grid at the beginning of the year. In addition, Solar Focus uses solar technology from Unisolar in its sleeve for the Kindle eReader, which won the innovation prize for eco-design at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas just a few weeks ago. (Sven Ullrich / Craig Morris)
