Struggling thin-film solar panel manufacturer Toledo Solar announced today that it will immediately cease operations and R&D efforts.
The company is said to have begun production of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar panels for the residential and non-utility markets in 2021 on a 100 MW line in Perrysburg, Ohio. The company started in the backyard of CdTe giant First Solar, and company executives said it would not compete with First Solar, focusing instead on supplying panels to smaller markets. Toledo Solar would make a small 115W panel similar in size to First Solar’s phased-out Series 4 module.
The problems started almost immediately. First Solar filed a complaint in 2023 alleging that Toledo Solar did not make solar panels at all, but instead took old First Solar panels and rebranded them as Toledo Solar.
The two companies settled the lawsuit and Toledo Solar’s then-CEO Aaron Bates was ousted from the company. Applied Business Strategy LLC was hired in July 2023 to turn the company around.
Tom Pratt, general manager of Applied Business Strategy and interim president of Toledo Solar, announced today that the Ohio facility will be decommissioned.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to license certain technology needed to manufacture the cadmium telluride panels we were developing for the residential, commercial and industrial markets we were targeting,” said Pratt. “Once it was determined that we did not have access to the right technology, we moved to a different business model, but the barriers to success proved to be too high. Ultimately, the Toledo Solar Board determined that there was no viable path forward for the company to continue, and they voted to cease operations.”
