Evergreen Solar, Bankrupt and Sinking

Solar panels are a proclaimed wave of the future, but today Evergreen Solar Inc., filed for bankruptcy listing $485.6 million in debt.

A generous $58 million in subsidies and tax breaks by Gov. Deval Patrick's administration was not enough for the Massachusetts clean energy company. For months they have been battling with debt, which led to the closing down of their Devens factory in March, cutting 800 jobs.

On Monday the company announced reorganization in the U.S bankruptcy Court in Delaware where they reached a deal with certain note holders to restructure its debt and auction of assets.

The bankruptcy of Evergreen Solar has brought with it great criticism with many calling the Patrick administration's contribution "a waste of money."

" It highlights the folly of the Patrick-Murray administration, which has put government subsidies into (its) pet projects instead of offering broad-based relief to all Bay State employers," Massachusetts Republican chair Jennifer Nassour said after Evergreen filed for Chapter 11 protection. The Boston Herald reported.

The company has announced that it will focus on supplying Solar wafers after finding stiff competition from Chinese manufacturers in solar panel production.

"Evergreen will continue seeking to reposition itself as a supplier of solar wafers, a building block of solar panels," Evergreen Solar's , CEO Michael El-Hillow said.

"The actions we are taking today enable the continued development of an industry standard wafer using Evergreen's differentiated technology and thereby provide the lowest cost wafer to the growing solar industry."

The state has called for months on Evergreen to return some of the aid issued by the Patrick-Murray administration, but the company's bankruptcy announcement makes that unlikely.