Germany's Conergy in talks on ownership of solar factory

Hamburg  - Troubled German solar-energy company Conergy said Thursday it was in talks over the future of its solar-cell plant at Frankfurt an der Oder, east of Berlin.

Conergy is one of a raft of German makers of renewable-energy equipment that grew rapidly, fostered by government legislation aimed at cutting carbon emissions.

Responding to a report by the Seoul newspaper Maeil Business Newspaper that it was in talks on selling the site to South Korean electrical group LG, Conergy said, "We are in talks about a strategic partnership in Frankfurt an der Oder."

But the Hamburg head office of Conergy did not say who it was talking to or whether an outright sale was in prospect, saying details would only come when the matter was substantial enough to discuss.

In a related development, a German constructor of wind turbines, Nordex, said it was concerned that foreign companies were taking over the German green technology industry.

Nordex chief executive Thomas Richterich told the newspaper Financial Times Deutschland, "The risk is great that we will lose our technological achievements."

Nordex, which has its head office near Hamburg, announced it had won a 500-million-euro (700-million-dollar) order from Scan Energy of Denmark for 170 turbines to be installed in Germany, France, Greece, Poland, Turkey and Romania. (dpa)

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