California-based GlobalWatt is cancelling plans to build a US$177 million solar panel factory in Michigan, US.
Chief executive officer Sanjeev Chitre has blamed a struggling economy and overseas market for putting the Saginaw project on hold.
“We could not manage that kind of liability without the sort of market expanding really rapidly, which we couldn't see happening,” Chitre told WNEM-TV last week. He said the company might reconsider if the market expands.
The plan called for assembling crystalline silicon solar panels at the plant. State and local officials approved millions of dollars in incentives, but claim the aid wasn't distributed appropriately, reported the Midland Daily News.
US manufacturers have complained that solar panel prices have plummeted since China began large-scale exports.
Officials in the Saginaw area have been pursuing a number of solar power-related projects. In November, a 240 acre site in Saginaw County's Thomas Township was dedicated as the Great Lakes Solar Technology Park.
