{"id":296714,"date":"2024-01-18T13:14:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T12:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=296714"},"modified":"2024-01-18T13:14:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T12:14:56","slug":"germanys-last-solar-panel-producer-prepares-to-close-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=296714","title":{"rendered":"Germany\u2019s last solar panel producer prepares to close shop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Meyer Burger er\u00f6ffnet Modulfabrik in Freiberg<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Meyer Burger, the last producer of solar modules in Germany, has announced plans to close down and relocate to the US, fuelling political debates on whether the industry deserves long-term state support to ensure its survival.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck\u2019s plan to entice solar module manufacturers back onto German soil by offering generous state subsidies is faced with a dead-end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the fractuous government coalition, the liberal FDP party is blocking plans to grant a \u201cresilience bonus\u201d to would-be manufacturers, amid a continued budget crisis caused by a ruling from Germany\u2019s top court last month which blew a \u20ac60 billion hole in the country\u2019s finances. \u00a0EURACTIV<\/a><\/a> has the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the Swiss module producer Meyer Burger is threatening to relocate to the US entirely, putting 500 jobs at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following losses of about \u20ac133 million in 2023, \u201cthe company is preparing to close down module production in Germany\u201d, Meyer Burger said in a statement<\/a> on Wednesday (17 January).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solar panels are mostly manufactured in China these days, but Germany is still home to some parts of the value chain. Polysilicon, for example, is produced by chemicals company WACKER in Saxony, a former communist state of East Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPoly\u201d, as the industry calls it, is treated in various ways before companies like Meyer Burger assemble the modules at their site, which is also located in Saxony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The region\u2019s brand name? \u201cSilicon Saxony\u201d, a state where most of Germany\u2019s microchip production facilities are also located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Made in Germany<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saxony is alarmed by Meyer Burger\u2019s plans to relocate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis announcement is a wake-up call,\u201d said the state\u2019s energy minister, Wolfram G\u00fcnther, adding: \u201cWe now need a quick decision in favour of a protected national market segment with resilience criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wants a share of the German market to be reserved for modules \u201cmade in Germany\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meyer Burger, which claims technological leadership in manufacturing high-efficiency solar panels \u2013 although some media reports suggest otherwise<\/a> \u2013 has blamed its woes on unfair foreign competition, like dumping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs long as the legislator does not create fair competition despite its announcements, we are preparing the restructuring in Germany,\u201d said CEO Gunter Erfurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their threat to close shop \u2013\u00a0far from the first one by the company<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 revives old fears in Germany, which lost much of its budding solar panel industry to Chinese competition in the late noughties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meyer Burger\u2019s announcement comes as the German government struggles to provide sufficient state support to retain domestic production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are in talks with Meyer Burger, and we are very aware of the difficult situation of this company and the PV industry in Germany,\u201d a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company set a deadline for \u201cthe second half of February 2024\u201d and called for \u201cresilience measures\u201d to secure production in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story<\/em><\/strong> h<\/a>ere<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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