Creditor rights protection association Alpine Creditors Association (AKV Europa) has announced insolvency proceedings for Austrian solar module manufacturer Energetica Industries GmbH, along with its owner Peak Power Holding GmbH. This is the 2nd time that Energetica has filed for insolvency.
The Austrian company previously announced insolvency in November 2021 citing disruptions caused by COVID-19, cutting its access to raw materials from China (see Austria's Energetica Files For Insolvency).
This time around, Energetica claims the restructuring process that began in April 2022 post the earlier insolvency, wasn't successful in the long term though it was completed. AKV says it cannot confirm if the restructuring plan has been fulfilled and that it needs to be explained in detail during the proceedings.
The Liebenfels-headquartered solar module maker's liabilities amount to around €19 million and affects around 120 creditors and 94 employees. It now needs an external investor to carry out further restructuring.
According to its insolvency application, there is 'already strong interest from various investors and industrial companies in acquiring the company in view of the first-class industrial location with its modern production halls and the excellent products and patents with their suitability especially for bad weather and their high performance.'
Local news portal Kleine Zeitung referred to an Energetica statement to report that 'ruinous' competition in the market with warehouses overflowing with cheaper Chinese solar panels has complicated the situation for local industry players.
In February 2023, the company also fell prey to a fraud wherein several thousands of its modules were stolen using stolen identities, leading to a loss of millions.
Earlier this year in July 2023, German agrivoltaic thin film PV company Tubesolar also filed for insolvency citing supply chain issues, finally shutting down production in August 2023 (see Europe Solar PV News Snippets).
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