Meyer Burger Abandons Plans for Solar Cell Production

Meyer Burger Technology says its planned construction of a solar cell production facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., is no longer financially viable for the company and that the project will be discontinued. 

The company’s planned cooperation with a U.S. technology group will not be implemented at present in view of the revised strategy, added Meyer Burger.

As part of this realignment, the company is slated to focus on the nominal 1.4 GW capacity at its module production plant in Goodyear, Ariz., which is currently mostly installed and in the ramp-up phase. The existing cell production site in Thalheim, Germany, will remain fully operational. 

With this arrangement, the company expects to be able to service the existing long-term purchase contracts and utilize the production capacity in Goodyear. The expansion of the nominal module production capacity in Goodyear by an additional 0.7 GW has been suspended for the time being.

Debt financing previously sought through the monetization of 45X tax credits will continue to be pursued on a reduced scale, tailored to module production in the U.S. 

In connection with the strategic changes, the board of directors has instructed company management to draw up a restructuring and cost-cutting program. Mark Kerekes, member of the board of directors, has announced his resignation from the board.