News

GE Energy Completes Purchase of AstroPower

April 06, 2004 by Jeff Shepard

General Electric Energy (Fairfield, CT) announced that it has acquired substantially all of the US business assets of

AstroPower (Newark, DE). AstroPower filed a Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy two months ago to allow the sale of its assets and to meet other obligations. The transaction was subject to competitive bidding and approval of Bankruptcy Court, which were completed on March 12.

AstroPower developed, manufactured, marketed and sold a range of solar energy products, including solar cells, modules, panels and pre-packaged systems for off-grid and on-grid applications. The solar business will remain in Delaware and the majority of AstroPower employees will be transferred to GE.

"Solar power has great potential, since solar cells can be utilized almost anywhere," stated John Rice of GE Energy. "It already is a cost-effective source of power in many remote, off-grid locations, and as system costs come down, we expect demand will increase for on-grid residential and commercial applications."