Solar News

BP Solar has decided that it will close its solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing plant in Frederick, Maryland as early as the first quarter of 2012.  Built in 1981 by Solarex, the factory's solar panel roof is an icon alongside I-70 but, while the factory has continued to generate electricity, it has not been making solar panels for over a year now.  At its height, the plant employed over 500 workers but, more recently, the plant has only served as office and R&D space for 80 employees. 

The major reasons for downsizing and shutting down the plant include the falling prices of PV panels, lower demand in Europe and more-affordable labor in China with which they could not compete.  BP Solar plans to shift its focus to planning and implementing projects rather than manufacturing components.  BP Solar spokesperson Pete Ressler said, "we are going to exit our module only sales through our distribution network, looking at the market today [...] we think we can have a much stronger business [...] focusing on developing projects."

BP will move BP Solar to the main BP American headquarters in Houston, Texas but this will not be the end for BP Solar in the US.  According to Ressler,  [BP has] approximately 120 megawatts installed to date in Europe, Australia and the United States, and 110 megawatts under construction in those regions." We are not sure if the closure of BP Solar's facility is a strategic retreat with growth following for BP Solar, or a retrenchment followed by extinction.