Siemens Shuts Down Solar Business

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - German engineering giant Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) has pulled the plug on its solar power business following reports that the business has lost almost €784 million ($1 billion) in the last two years.

Last October, Siemens announced that it was getting out of the solar sector citing weaker subsidy support and cut-throat price competition. It put the business on the selling block last October but has failed to secure a buyer over the past seven months. For additional information, see August 21, 2013, article - Siemens Pulls Plug on Solar Power.

"After seven months of intensive sales efforts for the solar thermal business, it's clear that due to the increasingly difficult market situation, no investor could be found for the business," Siemens spokesman Torsten Wolf told pv magazine. Wolf added that the company was unable to reach an agreement that "provided due consideration for the interests of customers, employees, investors and Siemens."

Numerous companies showed interest in the solar business but according to Wolf: "the current and future market for solar receivers remains low. As a result, it was difficult to agree on a business plan for a sale that took into sufficient account the interests of both the buyer and seller."

Siemens made its big push into the solar sector in 2009 when it purchased Israeli solar firm Solel Solar Systems Limited (Beit Shemesh, Israel), for about $418 million, a company it then put up for sale towards the end of last year. Having failed to find a buyer, Israeli media reported that the company has fired 150 of its 200 Solel staff, with 50 remaining to deal with some outstanding solar projects in Europe. Also in 2009, Siemens bought a 28% stake in Archimede Solar Energy SpA (Massa Martana, Italy), a solar thermal company based in Italy.

Fellow German engineering company, Bosch (Stuttgart, Germany), announced in March that it too was quitting the cut-throat solar photovoltaic (PV) sector. The company blamed overcapacity, shrinking subsidies and plummeting prices for its decision to abandon the sector. Its Bosch Solar Energy subsidy 'tried and failed to gain competitiveness' in the marketplace, the company admitted. The division employed approximately 3,000 people and lost €1 billion ($1.25 billion) last year. . For additional information, see March 27, 2013, article - Bosch Quits Solar Power.

European solar companies have been suffering from the market being flooded by cheap solar panels and components from China. Europe is on a collision course with China following a decision earlier this month by the European Commission (E.C.) to impose anti-dumping levies on solar panels, cells and wafers imported from China. For additional information, see June 10, 2013, article - Europe Clashes With China over Solar Panels.

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