German solar panel firm Conergy claims insolvency as industry suffers from global price war

July 5, 2013 at 9:50AM

BERLIN — Germany's Conergy AG has become the latest victim of a global solar panel price war, which has already cost tens of thousands of jobs in the country in recent years.

Hamburg-based Conergy on Friday filed for insolvency and said it hoped to find an investor to continue the business. The company, which has some 1,200 employees, specializes in planning and installing photovoltaic systems.

More than a fifth of all jobs — or about 24,000 — in Germany's once-burgeoning solar panel industry have been lost since 2011.

A recent government report found that solar industry revenue dropped to 7.34 billion euros ($9.53 billion) last year from 11.9 billion euros in 2011.

The report blamed a fall in prices driven by cheap solar panels made in China.

about the writer

about the writer

More from Business

See More
card image
Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune

Though the U regents said the doctors acted ‘unlawfully’ in striking the deal, the interim chief of the doctors’ group says it’s no different from past deals.

card image
card image