Today at 11: 55 hours, about 120 employees of Sunways AG in Konstanz stopped working for 30 minutes. The company’s employees and Management Board protested against drastic cuts in solar energy subsidies envisaged by the Federal Environment Ministry. They fear serious consequences with respect to the economic condition of German photovoltaics manufacturers. At the second production plant of Sunways AG in Arnstadt/Thuringia, about 80 employees and the company’s Chief Technology Officer participated in a protest rally supported by several manufacturers.
Employees and management called on the Federal Government to exercise sound judgement in connection with the planned one-time reduction of feed-in tariffs and to continue to encourage the so far successful development of manufacturers in the photovoltaic sector. “The Federal Environment Ministry’s proposal jeopardizes the future of PV manufacturers in Germany and thus a large number of jobs”, said Michael Wilhelm, Chairman of The Management Board of Sunways AG in Konstanz. “These plans have to be revised urgently”, he added. „The amount of the one-time decrease has to be reduced, the date as of which it is to take effect must be postponed.“
Roland Burkhardt, Chief Technology Officer of Sunways AG, stated in Arnstadt: „This wrong approach would finally result in Germany losing again an innovative, technology-driven industry of local origin. Following the tough 2009 price round, there is only little leeway left to German manufacturers as to an additional one-time reduction“.The plants of more than a dozen solar companies were symbolically shut down today throughout Germany. The companies thus participated in a protest campaign initiated by the Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (German Solar Industry Association - BSW-Solar) under the motto „Curtailing solar energy means curtailing our future". In this context, it is supported by a large number of federal and state politicians across all parties.
Background information on this Germany-wide campaign is available at www.solar-made-in-germany.de.
© Sunways AG 2012
