Print
Email
Print Edition Stories
MHT's Efrain Viscarolasaga: Preparing the smart grid for more power
MHT's Efrain Viscarolasaga: Solar installation booms in New England
MHT reporter Efrain Viscarolasaga on NECN: Green tech brings jobs back to Mass.
Evergreen Solar Inc. reported a 21 percent sequential rise in revenue in the third quarter on brisk sales of its solar panels, but the company confirmed speculation that they will be moving the production of panels out of its Devens plant.
The Marlborough-based solar panel maker (Nasdaq: ESLR) said that it would refocus the Devens plant, built in 2007, to production of the solar wafers but it would construct panels in China through a contract manufacturing agreement with Jaiwei Solarchina Co. Ltd.
A Boston Business Journal article in June indicated that company officials were considering such a move if solar panel prices fell sharply and the company was unable to cut labor costs fast enough.
On Wednesday, Evergreen CEO Richard Feldt said in a statement those factors ultimately came into play in the decision.
“Panel prices have fallen 30 percent since mid-2008, making it very difficult for manufacturers located in high-cost regions to remain price competitive. Therefore, we are accelerating our strategic initiative of increasing the focus on our unique wafer manufacturing technology, and we will begin to transition our Devens-based panel assembly to China in mid-2010,” he said.
The announcement comes as Evergreen Solar appears to have regained some financial footing after the steep dropoff in solar demand earlier this year. It posted third quarter revenue of $77.7 million compared with revenue of $63.8 million last quarter and $17.8 million for the same quarter a year ago. Yet despite narrowing operating losses year over year by 73 percent to $6 million, a heavy tax hit resulted in Evergreen posting a net loss of $82.4 million.
Editor's Note: Evergreen Solar's revenue has increased. A previous version of this article incorrectly noted that the company's profits had increased.
RSS Feeds
Comments
Please Login/Register to post comments.
No comments have been added or approved.