Solar ♦ news digest New Ascent Solar member
will achieve new heights With a new board, member, the CIGS company is focussing on targeting the rooftop solar market
Ascent Solar Technologies has appointed Xu Biao as a member of its Board of Directors. Winston Xu is the founder and Chairman of Radiant Group, a large metal roofing contractor and provider of building materials based in China. Xu is also the Chairman of TFG Radiant Investment Group Ltd., the single largest shareholder of Ascent Solar. With over 15 years of experience in investments, business start-up operations, developments, turnarounds, and private equity investments, Xu is a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). Xu is also an industry expert in metallic roofing design and construction, building materials, manufacturing, and international trading.
Victor Lee, Ascent Solar President and CEO, says, “We are pleased to welcome Winston to the Board of Directors and look forward to leveraging his rooftop construction expertise in East Asia. Winston brings a wealth of experience related to international trade, construction and renewable power generation.” Along with the appointment of Xu to the Board of Directors, Ascent Solar intends to intensify its pursuit of market opportunities, including re-entrance into the BIPV and BAPV sectors which were delayed in March, 2011. “Mr. Xu will play a key role in our immediate plan to re-enter the BIPV and BAPV sectors. As those sectors continue to develop, Mr. Xu’s experience and relationships in the rapidly growing Chinese market will be invaluable,” comments Amit Kumar, Chairman of Ascent Solar. “Ascent Solar’s technology enables light and flexible PV products with applications in multiple markets, including BIPV, BAPV and consumer electronics. Near term, there are many opportunities to develop products in the consumer electronics market, especially in Asia. I am looking forward to helping guide Ascent into those markets as well as the BIPV and BAPV sectors,” says Xu. Ascent Solar says it will continue to serve premium, off-grid markets in the near term while aggressively ramping production and certifying an updated line of modules to IEC and UL standards in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The firm expects to re-enter the rooftop solar market on a global scale, with particular focus on the rapidly growing Asia market where Radiant Group has a strong presence. Ascent will also continue to work with strategic partners across all market segments to develop innovative sources of solar power generation. Xu has been appointed a Class 3 director for Ascent Solar, and he stands for election at the Company’s 2012 annual meeting. He was appointed to the Board as the designee of TFG Radiant pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement between the Company and TFG Radiant.
Will First Solar suffer like
Solyndra? Hopefully not. Unfortunately, the firm’s Oder manufacturing plant in Frankfurt is shutting down, and another four production lines in Kulim, Malaysia are going on hold indefinitely. The cadmium telluride solar manufacturing firm says it is downsizing staff by 30 percent
After announcing a change of its board of directors, First Solar is restructuring due to deteriorating market conditions in Europe. As part of this program, First Solar will close its manufacturing operations in, Oder, Frankfurt, Germany, in the fourth quarter of 2012. What’s more, the company will indefinitely idle four production lines at its manufacturing centre in Kulim, Malaysia, on May 1, 2012. These actions, combined with other personnel reductions in Europe and the U.S., will reduce First Solar’s global workforce by approximately 2,000 positions, about 30 percent of the total. The restructuring initiatives are expected to reduce First Solar’s costs by $30-60 million this year and $100-120 million annually moving forward. The company’s average manufacturing cost is expected to improve to $0.70-$0.72 per watt in 2012 as a result of the changes, below prior expectations of $0.74 per watt. In 2013 the Company estimates average module manufacturing costs will range from $0.60 to $0.64 per watt. To achieve these cost savings, First Solar will record restructuring and other related charges of $245-370 million, of which $80-120 million are cash expenditures. These include $150-250 million in asset impairment, primarily related to the Oder plants and $50- 70 million in severance and $30 million for repayment of a government grant related to the Oder operations. Another $15- $20 million for other charges represents valuation allowances for deferred tax assets in Europe and costs associated with the repayment of the German debt. First Solar expects to incur these charges primarily during the first quarter of 2012 and the rest over the course of this year. In addition, the firm has voluntarily paid down approximately $145 million of debt ahead of schedule in 2012, which represents repayment in full for outstanding amounts under the Company’s German loan agreement.
“After a thorough analysis, it is clear the European market has deteriorated to the extent that our operations there are no longer economically sustainable, and maintaining those operations is not in the best long-term interest of our stakeholders,” says Mike Ahearn, Chairman and Interim CEO of First Solar. “Decisions like this are not easy, especially given how important the European markets and our associates in Europe have been to the development of our Company and the solar industry as a whole. We are committed to treating all affected associates fairly, and to building our relationships with European business partners that are aligned with our strategy of pursuing utility-scale solar opportunities in sustainable markets around the world.” “The solar market has fundamentally changed, and we are quickly adapting our market approach and operations to maintain and build upon our competitive advantage,” adds Ahearn. “After a period of robust growth, First Solar is scaled to operate at higher volumes than currently exist following the reduction of subsidies in key legacy markets. As a result, it is essential that we reduce production and decrease expenses to reflect the smaller volume of high- probability demand we forecast. These actions will enable us
April/May 2012
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