Dresden solar company: No improvement in the situation in sight

According to Solarwatt CEO Detlef Neuhau, there is no improvement in sight for solar companies. "Like various market participants, we have been pointing out the economically threatening situation for the manufacturing solar industry in Germany and Europe to the public and in many direct talks with politicians for months. However, nothing has happened so far," the head of the Dresden-based company told the German Press Agency. According to Neuhaus, a promise made many years ago to strengthen the European solar industry, especially in relation to Asia, has not yet been followed by action.

If the situation for the companies does not fundamentally improve by the middle of this year, this could mean that his company decides to close production in Dresden. According to its own information, Solarwatt employs 710 people across Europe, 600 of them in Germany. Accordingly, 120 people would be affected by the closure of production. Should the closure go ahead, the company intends to redeploy them elsewhere.

If no political decisions are made in the near future, Solarwatt could be forced to relocate its production to sites abroad, according to Neuhaus. "Because at the current time and under the current conditions, it is simply no longer possible to produce solar modules in Germany and Europe in an economically viable way - I have to say that clearly." However, he and his company would prefer to continue offering products in Germany.

In addition to Solarwatt, solar manufacturer Meyer Burger, which is based in Hohenstein-Ernstthal (Zwickau district), Freiberg (Central Saxony district) and Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Anhalt-Bitterfeld district), had also threatened to close its solar module production in Germany, citing competition from China in particular as the reason. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has once again spoken out in favor of maintaining production in Germany and Europe.