SOITEC SELLS OFF SOLAR BUSINESS

By Miriam Raftery

May 24, 2015 (Sa Diego) – Soitec launched its solar manufacturing facility in San Diego with a $25 million federal grant. The company touted its cutting edge, utility-scale solar collectors as ultra-efficient.

But now the French-based company has announced it is selling off its manufacturing facility in Rancho Bernardo and other solar assets. The buyer is ConcenSolar. The deal includes all technology assets, manufacturing operations in Freiburg, Germany and San Diego, a company press release indicates.

The company sought to build four massive solar facilities in Boulevard, two of which were approved by County Supervisors despite strong community opposition due to destruction of meadows, wetlands and depletion of groundwater, among other issues.

The fate of the remaining project remains unclear, as does the future of the Rancho Bernardo facility and its employees.

Soitec’s problems were caused primarily the plummeting cost of solar panels offered by competitors, costing the company key contracts.

Soitec will continue to develop and bring to the market, based on its existing industrial capacity, a four-junction solar cell (or “Smart Cell™”) characterized by its world record efficiency, the company reports.