ET solar shut down its wafer division
also laying off workers in the division
ET solar (etsolar.com) just announced a reorganization by shedding its wafer production division. Although ET is primarily known as a solar project developer, it does have a wafer and cell production base. The close-down of its wafer does not affect its cell division at this time.
Obviously, at the onslaught of GCL, solar wafer is a tough business. Players need to invest significantly to move into high efficiency and cut cost - it is devastating to the marginal players like ET's wafer division. Others are bruised too: REC quit, MEMC cut back capacity, Comtec stopped expansion, LDK and SOL moved down to selling modules.
The hardship experienced by ET's wafer division is shared by many other small-to-mid sized independent producers. However, there is one group of players that are less affected by GCL and the competition. They are the essentially the subsidiaries of the power-gen companies in China as they are not too worried at the costs and sales. Some power-gen companies that do not have all the verticals simply ask for tolling services. Therefore, a year or two from now, these small-to-mid sized independent wafer players likely will die out in China.
