Image Source: A123 Systems
There was a fair amount of bad news surrounding the "renewable" energy space this week. George Leopold put together a very nice report for EE Times on the state of solar energy in China.
Leopold points out the following:
"Reports out of China indicate that key segments of China’s renewable energy infrastructure like photovoltaic technology are nearing collapse. In August, the head of a Chinese solar company leapt to his death when he realized his company couldn’t pay off a government loan. Other Chinese solar panel manufacturers have recently cut production."
Not long ago, everyone was blaming China for the death of US-based solar cell manufacturers, but it is starting to look like there is a lot more to the story than off-shore manufacturing with cheap labor.
And the troubles in the sector are spreading as a key manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles and grid storage announced their bankruptcy. Michigan-based A123 Systems Inc. becomes yet another green energy technology entity failing despite strong US government backing through the Department of Energy loans and other programs to kick-start the alternative energy economy.
To read more about A123 and other failures, I suggest Lara Hoffmans' analysis at Forbes.