Bosch Quits Solar Power

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - German engineering giant, Bosch (Stuttgart, Germany), has become the latest casualty of the cut-throat solar photovoltaic (PV) sector by announcing that it is quitting the marketplace.

The company blamed overcapacity, shrinking subsidies and plummeting prices for its decision to abandon the sector. Its Bosch Solar Energy subsidy, according to the company, has 'tried and failed to gain competitiveness' in the marketplace. The division employs approximately 3,000 people and lost €1 billion ($1.25 billion) last year.

Bosch said it will now 'discontinue its activities in the crystalline photovoltaics market' and plans to sell off units that manufacture ingots, wafers, cells, and modules from the start of next year. This will include the sale of its module plant in VÃnissieux, France, while it has also shelved plans to build a manufacturing facility in Malaysia. Despite efforts to finds a partner for the solar business, the company said it was left with choice but to shut it down.

"Despite extensive measures to reduce manufacturing costs over the past year, we were unable to offset the drop in prices, which was as much as 40%," stated Dr. Stefan Hartung, the chairman of the Bosch Solar Energy AG supervisory board.

"We know full well that associates face a difficult time. Together with the employee representatives, we will search for solutions that are as acceptable as possible. We appreciate the hard work done by our Solar Energy associates. Over the past year, our associates have fought hard for the future of their division. For this, we owe them our thanks. Nonetheless, our joint efforts to achieve long-term economic stability failed to bear fruit."

Last October, German engineering firm, Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany), pulled the plug on its own solar division, citing weaker subsidy support and cut-throat price competition. For additional information, see August 21, 2013, article - Siemens Pulls Plug on Solar Power.

European solar firms have complained about unfair price competition from Chinese companies. In September last year, following complaints made by EU ProSun, an industry association representing around 20 solar companies, the European Commission (E.C.) launched its largest ever anti-dumping investigation over allegations that Chinese solar panel firms were dumping solar panels and components into the European market at below cost prices. For additional information, see September 12, 2012, article - European Anti-Dumping Probe into Chinese Solar Firms.

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