Energy company Nuon is to sell or close down its solar panel factory in Arnhem as part of a cost-cutting measure by parent group Vattenfall, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday, quoting confidential documents.

Chinese company Hanenergy is interested in solar panel firm Helianthos but if the sale falls through, the plant will be closed down, the paper says.
The Helianthos plant, which employs 60 people, has had €15m in government subsidies over the past 10 years. Nuon itself has invested up to €100m, the paper says.
Guarantees
Nuon was taken over by Sweden’s state-owned Vattenfall last year after its local government shareholders were given a guarantee the company would ‘continue its current strategy with regard to renewable energy’.
According to internal company documents, Helianthos’ technology is ‘almost ready to be scaled up’, but that it is ‘not a core Nuon or Vattenfall business’ and there will be ‘no further investment’ in the factory.
In an internal company memo, Nuon strategists say closure carries a risk of negative reactions from the media and politicians given ‘Helianthos is seen as a green, innovative company, with recent research successes (a world record) and lots of subsidies.’
The takeover and closure of Dutch companies by foreign firms is a current political hot potato. The former Organon plant in Oss and Abbotts unit in Weesp both face closures and job cuts following their takeovers by US pharmaceuticals companies.