Plant in Saxony closes
Solar producer Meyer Burger will make a big loss in 2023
March 14, 2024, 12:04 p.m
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The solar industry in Europe is under enormous pressure. The Swiss company Meyer Burger will therefore be in the red in 2023. It has long been demanding financial support from the federal government and is threatening to move to the USA. One plant in Saxony is already at a standstill.
The solar manufacturer Meyer Burger posted a significant loss last year. In the 2023 financial year, the bottom line was a loss of 291.9 million Swiss francs (around 303 million euros), said Meyer Burger. The strong price pressure in the European solar market prevented us from achieving the desired sales volumes. Almost half of the loss was due to one-off effects, it said. The company estimated sales for 2023 at 135 million Swiss francs – slightly less than in the previous year (147.2 million francs).
“We have had a really very challenging year due to the market distortions in Europe,” said Managing Director Gunter Erfurt. In Germany there is a problem recognizing that solar is a critical infrastructure. However, positive developments can be seen at the European level. “As a company, we cannot rely on flowery statements; we are confronted with the harsh reality.”
Meyer Burger, headquartered in Thun, Switzerland, announced at the beginning of the year that it would close its factory in Freiberg, Saxony, and focus on the US market. Around 500 people work in Freiberg.
Resilience bonus not yet decided
The production of solar modules in the region is no longer profitable, says Meyer Burger. The company therefore called for higher subsidies for solar systems manufactured in Europe and argued that solar modules from China, for example, were heavily subsidized by the state. So far, however, the federal government has not been able to agree on a so-called resilience bonus.
As long as no reliable promises are made by politicians, the company will continue to work on closing the Freiberg location and relocating to America, said Erfurt. Production in Freiberg was “stopped for the time being” in mid-March.
According to the company, the cell production site in Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Saxony-Anhalt) and the research site in Hohenstein-Ernstthal in the Saxon district of Zwickau are not currently affected by possible closures. The locations would be needed, among other things, to ramp up module production in the USA.