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Posted on Tue, 10/18/2011 - 03:29 PM by Bryan Nisperos
viewed 748 times
In the wake of Evergreen’s bankruptcy filing in August 2011, the United States Bankruptcy Court has appointed Hilco Industrial, LLC to auction off the company’s remaining assets in the U.S. It’s a relatively quick turnaround that’s spurred some outcry from investors and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). As widely reported, Evergreen Solar was producing photovoltaics with its patented silicon String Ribbon technology. The technology promised to produce photovoltaics at a cost that was 33 percent less than traditional silicon manufacturing methods. However, an increase in supply internationally and from China, specifically, reduced the price of photovoltaics quicker than Evergreen was able to ramp up production. The lowered prices also led U.S.-based PV manufacturers Solyndra and SpectraWatt to declare bankruptcy this past August. SpectraWatt’s assets were auctioned off in September. Solyndra is still undergoing federal scrutiny over the $535 million loan guarantee it received from the DOE. In an attempt to save the Massachusetts-based company, Evergreen tried to move its solar manufacturing to China earlier this year. The move upset Massachusetts legislators that gave the company $46 million in various solar incentives to locate its manufacturing facilities in the state. But the planned move was not enough, and the company declared bankruptcy in August. The remaining assets of Evergreen Solar, including the real estate at its Devens, Mass., and Midland, Mich., facilities, will be auctioned off on Nov. 1. Interested parties must submit bids by Oct. 26. “The entire company is being offered for sale,” said Brian Lee, an executive vice president with Hilco’s company HilcoBid. In March, Hilco was selected to sell Evergreen’s Devens manufacturing facility. At that time, the company said the facility could produce more than 180 megawatts of photovoltaics annually. The company said the value of the equipment was $425 million. Hilco is auctioning off Evergreen’s material assets, or non-core assets. The company’s core assets, its intellectual property and patents, are being sold by investment bank UBS, according to Lee. Although UBS is handling the auction of the company’s intellectual property, the DOE wants to halt the sale of at least one of the company’s patented methodologies, according to The Wall Street Journal. The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory invested $3 million into the company’s research and development efforts in its early stages. In court documents, DOE attornies said they intended to, “Prevent foreign entities from gaining control over federally funded technology and competing with American industry unfairly,” the newspaper said. UBS managing director Doug Lane told the bankruptcy court that Chinese solar companies have shown the most interest in the auction so far, the Journal reported. UBS did not respond to a request for comment. MORE NEWS FROM CLEAN ENERGY AUTHORITYSolar stocks likely to remain at record lowsWith fundamental issues in the solar industry, including oversupply and consolidation, solar stocks are likely to remain at record lows through the end of 2012 and into 2013. New solar curriculum teaches students about renewable energyOne Million Lights recently teamed up with SunPower to bring a different kind of solar illumination to the world. Commerce Dept. imposes preliminary tariffs on Chinese PV manufacturersIn the trade complaint against Chinese silicon photovoltaic manufacturers the other shoe dropped today and it was louder than the soft thud of the first shoe. The U.S. Commerce Department preliminarily found that Chinese solar PV manufacturers were guilty of dumping PV cells and modules in the U.S. and impose preliminary anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese-based PV manufacturers. Enphase brings the AC/PV roadshow to DenverEnphase, a manufacturer of microinverters for solar photovoltaics is making a lot of noise and on the heels of a successful initial public offering, the company has launched the Enphase Roadshow. Through the roadshow the company is traveling across the country to show off its microinverters and associated technologies that allow each PV module in an array to produce to its maximum ability. The roadshow made a two-day stop in Denver at the World Renewable Energy Forum to show off its latest. DOE Secretary sees bright future for solarYesterday Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Dr. Steven Chu discussed why he got involved in renewable energy and how solar and wind are becoming cost competitive with natural gas—which is currently cheaper than coal in the U.S. He also warned of the U.S. losing ground in terms of manufacturing jobs, unless Congress takes action to continue to support renewable energy. Chu made his remarks at Wednesday’s World Renewable Energy Forum keynote address. RELATED SOLAR NEWSSolarWorld States Anti-Dumping Duties Against ‘Big China Solar’ a Step Toward Restoring Industry CompetitionApple to Power 3 Data Centers with 100 Percent Renewable EnergyGreenpeace advocates gathered outside of Apple's Cupertino headquarters early this week dressed as iPhones and iPods, declaring their outrage about the company's lack of clean energy use. They projected social media messages from supporters on the side of the building:Solar Industry Reacts to Anti-Dumping RulingThe US has imposed higher-than-expected tariffs of around 31% on Chinese PV imports, drawing support from some US manufacturers and sharp criticism from Chinese officials and companies. In its preliminary ruling May 17, the US Commerce Department issued anti-dumping duties of 31.14% on imports of solar cells and panels from Suntech, 31.22% from Trina Solar, 31.18 percent from other companies that had requested but not received individual duty determinations and 249.96 percent from all other Chinese producers, including those controlled by the Chinese government. NREL Director Named Chair of National Science BoardDan Arvizu, director of the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has been elected Chairman of the National Science Board. The 25-member body advises the president and Congress on science and engineering issues, and is the policy-setting and budget-approving body for the National Science Foundation. With an annual budget of $6.9 billion, the foundation funds about 20% of all federally supported basic scientific research at U.S. colleges and universities. Arvizu will serve a two-year term as chairman. Are IT Data Centers Emerging as a 'Killer App' for Green Power? Part 1Last month, Greenpeace launched a series of coordinated protests at Amazon, Apple and Microsoft locations to draw attention to the companies’ use of GHG intensive fuels in powering their data centers. The protests were a follow up to their recently released report, “How Clean is Your Cloud,” which criticized the companies foSOLAR ENERGY ARTICLES
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