Conergy to Sue MEMC to End Silicon Contract
Conergy said Monday it plans to sue MEMC Electronic Materials to end a 10-year contract for buying silicon wafers, the materials for making solar cells. Germany-based Conergy, which makes solar cells and assembles them into panels, said efforts to renegotiate the contract and get better terms failed. As a result, it intends to file suit in New York City and ask a judge to invalidate the contract. (...) Conergy and MEMC amended their contract once before. In July last year, the compaies announced that they had agreed to reduce their 10-year wafer agreement from about $7 billion to $8 million to about $4 billion. Many solar cell and panels makers all have talked about efforts to re-negotiate their silicon contracts to get better prices. Meanwhile, producers of silicon and other components used for making solar panels are scaling back production or factory expansion plans.