From European Struggles to U.S. Collapse
Meyer Burger filed its U.S. manufacturing unit into Chapter 11 in June, weighed down by a staggering $562 million debt load, after its German and Swiss affiliates entered insolvency weeks earlier.
The company, headquartered in Switzerland, had expanded into the U.S. as Europe’s solar market buckled under competition from low-cost Chinese panels. Meyer Burger launched factories in Arizona and Colorado, but according to Chief Restructuring Officer Justin D. Pugh, the company never raised enough capital to bring either site to full production.
The U.S. operations were further battered by falling demand for solar panels, tariffs on Chinese-imported materials, and policy uncertainty over renewable tax credits during the Trump administration.
A Fragile Future for Solar Ambitions
While secured creditors will see repayment through the sales, unsecured creditors remain at risk of recovering little to nothing. The clash highlights a recurring tension in solar bankruptcies, where global competition, volatile tax incentives, and financial shortfalls repeatedly leave investors and suppliers on the losing end.
Meyer Burger was represented in the case by Paul N. Heath, Brendan J. Schlauch, Jason M. Madron, Zachary J. Javorsky, and Nicholas A. Franchi of Richards Layton & Finger PA. The creditors’ committee was represented by Stephanie Slater Ward, Michael G. Menkowitz, and Jesse M. Harris of Fox Rothschild LLP.
