“Dumping prices” for solar modules
Meyer Burger closes plant and criticizes politics
February 23, 2024, 9:30 a.m
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“Market distortions” are causing problems for German solar companies, to which German politicians still owe an answer, says Meyer Burger. The manufacturer is now closing its factory in Freiberg.
The solar company Meyer Burger has announced that it is preparing to close its factory in Freiberg in Saxony. This should take place gradually, said the Swiss producer based in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Initially, production will stop in the first half of March. The company expects this to result in significant cost savings. The closure is scheduled to come into force at the end of April.
Instead, the solar module manufacturer wanted to ramp up production in the USA, it was said. Meyer Burger had also recently brought up this step again and again. The group justified its decision to take the measures by saying that “there is still no decision on political support measures to remedy the current market distortions caused by oversupply and dumping prices for solar modules”.
With its factory in Freiberg, Meyer Burger claims to be the largest solar module production company in Europe. 500 workers are employed at the site. Other manufacturers in the solar industry had also recently threatened to close local plants: China is flooding the market for solar modules with price dumping, and financial support from the state is needed to maintain the industry in Germany.
“Chinese manufacturers now have a significant lead, especially when it comes to scaling production, which has also led to a significant cost advantage,” DIW expert Peter-Wolf Schill told ntv.de. In principle, he thinks it is possible that the European solar industry could catch up on this lead. “But that would require significant funding, the appropriate political will and a lot of political perseverance,” says Schill. Given the current financial situation, the DIW expert believes it is unlikely that the German solar industry will become competitive again.