Bosch Solar to close thin-film modules factory in Erfurt - report

Aug 28, 2012 - Photovoltaics (PV) equipment maker Bosch Solar Energy AG will shut down its 30 MW thin-film silicon modules production plant in Erfurt, Germany, at the end of 2012, Photovoltaik magazine reported yesterday.

Apart from effects such as decreasing PV prices, global oversupply and recent feed-in tariff (FiT) cuts for large solar plants in Germany, the decision about the plant's closure was also a result of the Bosch Solar's aim to switch production emphasis on crystalline PV production in Arnstadt and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) module development in Brandenburg, seeing these two as with the greatest business potential for the group.

The closure of the Erfurt plant will affect 130 workers who will be either relocated internally or guided to new employers in the region.

Referring to recent media allegations that Bosch could completely pull out of the photovoltaics industry, a company spokesperson told Photovoltaik magazine that Bosch's PV production is still in full mode at the site in Arnstadt factory and the company intends too keep manufacturing and marketing its modules around the globe.

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