SpectraWatt Inc., a Hopewell Junction, N.Y.-headquartered manufacturer of crystalline solar cells, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
According to a Bloomberg report, SpectraWatt, which was spun off from Intel Corp. and backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., currently owes its creditors $38.7 million and plans to auction off nearly all of its assets.
Echoing the words of executives at Devens, Mass.-based Evergreen Solar, which filed for bankruptcy last week, SpectraWatt's leadership cited increasing competition from low-cost Chinese manufacturers as a cause of its financial woes. In addition, the declining prices of solar modules in recent months have placed pressure on manufacturers.
Last December, SpectraWatt shut down its Hopewell Junction manufacturing facility, less than a year after its launch. At the time, the company blamed reduced solar cell demand on severe winter weather in Europe.
