SpectraWatt, a US-based solar power company which originally had spun off from Intel Corporation and was backed by Intel Capital, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
The filing came after SpectraWatt was attempting to wind down outside Chapter 11, according to the bankruptcy protection filing. Since late 2010 it had been marketing for a sale of the business as a going concern and had shut down its manufacturing and research facilities, the filing said. It had also attempt to resolve and negotiate its debts but had been unable to secure a negotiated settlement with "a lessor and a large contract vendor", the filing said. The company had $33.9m of assets and $38.7m of liabilities, the filing added.
In 2008, Spectrawatt had spun off from Intel Corporation and had raised $50m from Germany-based solar company Solon, Intel Corporation, Intel Capital, PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, and Goldman Sachs energy subsidiary Cogentrix Energy, the filing said.
The company subsequently took on $36.7m in senior secured debt based on a loan agreement it took out in December 2009, with venture firm PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, Cogentrix Energy, and Intel affiliate Middlefield Ventures, Germany-based solar company Roth & Rau and UK-based solar company Crystalox, according to the filing.
The filing said Spectrawatt’s production had faced delays and "the quality of [SpectraWatt]’s finished products failed to meet purchaser specifications". This in turn had caused it to sell products at reduced prices, hitting revenue, which meant it was unable to raise follow-on funding in 2010, the filing said.
The difficulties of the company were in part due to problems in the solar market, the filing said. "Substantial overcapacity in the [solar] industry and world-wide reductions in state-sponsored subsidies for solar installation, particularly in Europe, have created downward pressure on prices. The unwillingness of the United States to adopt significant subsidies for clean energy use has only made matters worse."
"While demand for solar cells may increase in the future, [SpectraWatt] expects that significant capacity expansions in low cost manufacturing regions, like China, combined with potential adverse changes in government subsidies in Europe will result in continuing pressure on solar cell prices for the foreseeable future," the filing added.