Evergreen Solar

The Evergreen Solar, Inc. ( NASDAQ: ESLR ) was a publicly traded US-based solar company that manufactures, among other solar cells and solar modules. The company had in August 2011 insolvency under Chapter 11 sign.

String - Ribbon technology

Evergreen Solar holds all the patents on the String Ribbon technology, also known as SR method. The process was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This allows solar wafers, the basis of solar cells that produce compared with conventional technologies, efficient and resource-friendly. This polycrystalline wafers are not the usual cut from silicon blocks. Instead, thin wafers between two carbon wires are drawn from a silicon melt. In the so-called quad- investments of the company at the same four silicon surfaces can be drawn.

The products manufactured by this method String Ribbon modules can be produced with a much lower silicon and energy reduction compared to the other common methods of production: The production technology is characterized by a lower by up to 50 % silicon consumption. Since the silicon consumption is determinative of the cost and energy consumption in the production of solar cells, an energy payback period of Evergreen modules is achieved by less than 12 months, that is, they produce in less than a year more energy than for their preparation required had. Thanks to modern production technology at Evergreen Solar, the solar modules at the same time achieve a CO2 balance, the below that is up to 50 % of conventional modules.

With products that have been manufactured by this process, in 2009 sales revenue of about 271.8 million U.S. dollars were obtained for the company worldwide (total 2008 sales: 112.0 million U.S. dollars).

Company Profile

Evergreen Solar was listed on the U.S. stock exchange and has been listed 30 index in photovoltaic Global. 2004, the German Evergreen Solar in Berlin was gegrümdet.

In Germany, Evergreen Solar was (formerly EverQ ) involved in Bitterfeld- Wolfen in Sovello, a joint venture with Q -Cells and REC (Renewable Energy Corporation). In early 2010 Sovello was taken over by a new investor.

Evergreen Solar shifted from the spring of 2010 its production of solar modules to China in the region Wuhan, the end of August 2009, with the construction of the factory, the pa up to 500 MW should produce begun. This project is a joint venture between Evergreen Solar and a Chinese company. Evergreen Solar contemplated by the construction of the plant to reduce its production costs for solar panels drastically. Finally, a major project in the southern Italian Apulia was realized, which was selected by the Internet portal " solarserver.de " as "Solar System of the Month April 2010".

Insolvency

On 15 August 2011, the Group filed at the court in Delaware filed for bankruptcy protection and thus insolvency. The company has 500 million U.S. dollars in debt.