BOSTON (AP) --€” Satcon Technology (NASDAQ: SATC) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following years of financial struggles and a severe downturn in the solar power industry.

CEO Steve Rhoades says filing for Chapter 11 will help the company keep operating while it reorganizes.

The Boston company, which makes products for large-scale solar power installations, said Wednesday that it filed its petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware after defaulting on some of its debt earlier this month.

The company has posted losses every year from 2005 to 2011, and reported a loss for the first six months of 2012. It has cut jobs and closed a Canadian factory as demand for solar power installations drop.