Solarworld expects EU's China anti-dumping duties in May or June

By Stefan Nicola

Solarworld AG (SWV), the German solar-panel maker that led a group of manufacturers in a complaint against unfair competition from Chinese companies, expects the European Union to announce anti-dumping duties as early as May.

EU regulators may impose preliminary anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar products on May 1 or June 1, Chief Executive Officer Frank Asbeck said yesterday in an interview. The shares rose the most in more than a year in Frankfurt.

He expects the market to be “very tough” until the playing field becomes more fair in Europe. Bonn-based Solarworld will focus on the U.S. and Japan, where Asbeck said there is growing demand for higher efficiency panels. The company sees “no chance” to sell German solar panels in China due to “unfair market entry conditions,” he said.

“We expect a clear statement from the European Commission, as the data and facts show that unfair subsidies and dumping from Chinese suppliers takes place in Europe,” Asbeck said by phone.

The commission, the EU’s trade authority, initiated an investigation Sept. 6 into whether Chinese manufacturers sold solar wafers, cells and panels in the 27-nation bloc below cost, a practice known as dumping.

The move was a response to a July complaint from 25 European solar companies led by Solarworld, and followed a U.S. decision last year to impose anti-dumping duties as high as 250 percent on Chinese manufacturers.

Shifting Production

Solarworld, which has a plant in Hillsboro, Oregon, plans to convert a “significant” share of its U.S. multi-crystalline production capacity into mono-crystalline capacity, Asbeck said. Mono-crystalline panels converts more of the energy in sunlight into electricity at a slightly higher cost.

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