Solar industry observers have been watching this train coming for months. As prices fall and margins are squeezed, there is bound to be a shakeout of solar manufacturers. And the first domino has fallen.
Evergreen Solar
All of the things that were "supposed to" happen never did, and this week's filing was the result.
Who's next?
One minor solar manufacturer filing for bankruptcy doesn't really constitute a shakeout, so who else may be in trouble going forward? Energy Conversion Devices
Like Evergreen, Energy Conversion Devices is a great story. The pictures of its products are very impressive, and there are even some nice projects the company is working on. But losses keep mounting, sales are falling, and there's a large debt burden hanging over the company. When earnings are released on Aug. 25, we'll see if the company's solar division has made any progress, but I'm not going to bet on it.
Ascent Solar
Sticking with solar leaders with high margins like Trina Solar
Stocks can continue to trade after bankruptcy has been filed, but that doesn't mean the shares are actually worth anything. If I owned shares, I would cash them in for anything I could get at this point.
Keep Evergreen Solar and Ascent Solar on My Watchlist to see whether they're going to follow Evergreen Solar's fate.
- Add Energy Conversion Devices to My Watchlist.
- Add Ascent Solar Technologies to My Watchlist.