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File photo of an Arise Technologies Corporation grid-connected photovoltaic inverter power meter indicates the wattage being generated by the roof-integrated solar panels at a Cook Homes model solar home in Waterloo.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail

Arise Technologies Corp. , a Waterloo, Ont., solar technology company that was once considered a leader in the Canadian solar energy sector, will have its stock dropped from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The company said Thursday that the TSX has decided that its shares and warrants no longer meet its listing requirements, and they will be delisted as of Dec. 23. Arise said it will try to get a listing on an "alternate exchange."

In the meantime, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) has initiated a temporary cease-trade order on Arise's common shares and warrants until the company files its third-quarter interim financial statements, which have been delayed.

Arise made waves three years ago when it opened the doors of a brand-new solar cell manufacturing plant in Bischofswerda, Germany. With financial support from the German government, the operation was to be a key foothold for the Canadian company, giving it access to the lucrative European solar energy market.

In October, Arise shut down the facility, unable to get sufficient financing to expand and upgrade in order to make high-efficiency cells. Arise's German arm is now in insolvency proceedings, which could see its assets sold or disposed of.

The company is still involved in installing solar power systems in Ontario, and is working on an innovative means of producing high-purity silicon that is used in solar cells.

Arise is in talks for a "business combination" with another, unnamed, firm. To keep itself going, the company recently arranged a bridge loan of $1.5-million – at 12-per-cent interest.

Arise, like other Canadian companies that staked their future on manufacturing solar panels and cells, has fallen victim to falling prices that have resulted from overcapacity, intense competition, and weak markets. While the worldwide market for solar products has grown by an average of 30 per cent a year over the past two decades, the industry is now in a slump.

Manufacturers rushed to build capacity following a boom year in 2010. That pushed down solar cell and panel prices, which only fell further when the world economy staggered. The cost of a solar panel is now about 40-per-cent less than a year ago.

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