Chinese Solar Panel Giant Is Tainted by Bankruptcy

HONG KONG — It was the Icarus of the solar power industry. And, on Wednesday, it fell to earth. The main subsidiary of Suntech Power, one of the world’s largest makers of solar panels, collapsed into bankruptcy in a remarkable reversal for what had been part of a huge Chinese government effort to dominate renewable energy industries. The bankruptcy is a sign of the worldwide consolidation of the solar industry, which has been crippled by a glut of products on world markets and Western tariffs on Chinese products. It also signals China’s unwillingness to continue to subsidize struggling manufacturers in the industry, which is contributing to the steep decline of its green energy pursuits. More than any other country, China had leaned heavily on renewable energy to solve its problems of severe air pollution and dependence on energy imports from politically unstable countries in the Middle East and Africa. Suntech, a centerpiece of the country’s efforts, had grown to 10,000 employees in its hometown, Wuxi, on China’s east coast, and even set up a small factory in Arizona to assemble panels. But a tenfold expansion of Chinese solar panel manufacturing capacity from 2008 to 2012 pushed down the price of solar panels about 75 percent, undermining the economics of the business. read more at:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/business/energy-environment/chinese-solar-companys-operating-unit-declares-bankruptcy.html?ref=bankruptcies