U.S. solar company Abound files for bankruptcy

The company had received a 400 million dollar loan from the U.S. government. The company is losing money as demand from the U.S. and Europe falls and competition from Chinese manufacturers has cut prices.

Another reason for Abound's failure is that its manufacturing process has lost its competitive advantage. Abound produced electricity directly from cadmium rather than using silicon cells. While the cost of silicon cells was high this was an advantage but now the price of silicon cells has dropped considerably so the Abound technique is no longer efficient.

U.S. solar makers are requesting the government to increase tariffs on Chinese solar panels. However, any legal measures are already too late for Abound.

­ Last year another U.S. solar maker Solyndra also collapsed after receiving over a half billion dolllars from the U.S. government. In the last year solar panel prices have dropped by half. The import of Chinese made panels has soared from 639 million in 2009 to 3.1 billion in 2011. While restricting imports would help U.S. manufacturers the price for the panels would rise for U.S. consumers. For more see this article.