Western Europe

A U.S. court has granted Hemlock’s hefty claim against the leading solar PV company, which remains confident that enforcement of the lawusuit will fail in Germany.

SolarWorld could face bankruptcy as a result of its polysilicon supply dispute with Hemlock. The U.S. polysilicon supplier is claiming up to $793.5 million in damages, in court documents acquired by Reuters today.

IHS Senior Research Director Ash Sharma spoke to pv magazine to give his take on the SolarWorld and Hemlock Semiconductor initial ruling last week, and how the two companies are likely to proceed from here, expecting that SolarWorld is feeling the pressure to come to an agreement quickly.

The U.S. court adjudicating on the legal dispute between SolarWorld subsidiary Deutsche Solar and Hemlock Semiconductor has granted a motion for a summary judgment, dismissing SolarWorld’s submission for the case to be heard by a jury. The dispute stems from three multi-year polysilicon supply deals negotiated and signed between 2005 and 2007. SolarWorld argues that it is not beholden to these supply deals as they were subsequently amended by the two parties.

The court document from the dramatic initial ruling in the SolarWorld and Hemlock Semiconductor polysilicon dispute reveals that Hemlock was willing to negotiate amendments to the polysilicon Supply Agreements with SolarWorld subsidiary Deutsche Solar, if the German company assisted in resolving a dispute “between the US and China over the exchange of solar-industry products.”

The German PV group says it is optimistic that Hemlock will not succeed in actually enforcing any claims against it in Germany, arguing that the disputed silicon supply contract at the center of the legal dispute violates EU antitrust law.

The Swiss power electronics firm will end manufacturing operations at the U.S. site, shifting an undisclosed number of jobs to Estonia and Italy later this year. Some sales and service staff will be retained in Phoenix.

European markets: In a continent seeking ever closer union but ever stronger opposition, solar’s ability to stand on its own two feet – free from subsidy – will prove crucial in the coming years, as seen in the disparate approaches many European nations are taking towards PV.