Toledo-area solar firms shining bright through some dim spots in market

The Toledo firm faced setbacks, including dozens of layoffs, this year when an Italian customer delayed receipt of a large order of solar panels. Since then, Mr. Deng said, his small business has slowly climbed back, securing new customers and considering a partnership with another solar firm that could lead Xunlight to expand its production beyond traditional solar panels.

Mr. Deng said Xunlight’s retooled strategy could make the company stronger.
“The industry has changed and is changing, and we have to constantly rethink and constantly look for various opportunities to broaden our product line and attract new customers,” he said.

Although solar experts say the domestic market for photovoltaic panels is growing, Toledo-area solar firms are working to overcome hurdles at the state, federal, and global levels. Companies such as Xunlight, First Solar Inc., which has its only U.S. manufacturing plant in northwest Ohio, and Willard & Kelsey Solar Group LLC of Perrysburg face an economic downturn, numerous competitors worldwide, and the potential end of renewable-energy policies and subsidies that help drive panel sales.

Can the local operations withstand the pressures?

Rick Stansley, director of strategic business development at the University of Toledo, said each of the local solar companies has the wherewithal to do so.

“All in all, I would say that we are doing relatively well with respect to our business enterprises,” he said.

Among the issues facing local solar companies is a proposed repeal of Ohio’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, which requires 25 percent of electricity sold in the state to be produced from alternative resources by 2025. Further, a loan guarantee program from the U.S. Department of Energy that helps companies gain financing for advanced energy projects is to expire at the end of this month.

The debate of the federal loan guarantee program has been heightened by the collapse of Solyndra Inc., a California solar panel manufacturer. The company received $535 million in federal-loan guarantees before filing for bankruptcy this month, and Solyndra faces a Justice Department investigation and a congressional probe.

Solyndra’s downfall has led some lawmakers to contest federal aid for other solar manufacturers. U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (D., Calif.) argued last week that loans to solar panel makers are poor bets, and that foreign competition and other pressures could lead to the “collapse of the solar panel manufacturing business in America.”

But Thomas Kimbis, general counsel for the Solar Energy Industries Association in Washington, contends that the most financially fit and strategically oriented firms stand to benefit as the United States becomes one of the world’s fastest-growing solar market.

“The competition in the market is so fierce that only the strongest companies are going to survive, especially in economically poor conditions and with policy uncertainty,” said Mr. Kimbis, who is also vice president of strategy and external affairs for the trade association.