Norway-based REC Silicon has introduced that its wholly owned subsidiary, REC Superior Silicon Supplies LLC, is shutting down polysilicon manufacturing capability at its facility in Butte, Montana. The plant employs about 300 individuals and is without doubt one of the high non-public employers within the area.
The producer mentioned the shutdown of the enterprise in Butte is “primarily essential as a result of regional structural imbalance in provide and demand for electrical energy.” Additionally it is mentioned to be a part of its technique to make sure long-term worthwhile operations.
REC Silicon produces solar-grade polysilicon at its facility in Moses Lake, Washington, and electronics-grade polysilicon and silicon fuel at its manufacturing unit in Butte, Montana. The vegetation have an annual manufacturing capability of greater than 20,000 metric tons (MT) of polysilicon.
The corporate’s Washington facility restarted manufacturing in November 2023 after 5 years of idleness and following a 10-year take-or-pay provide settlement for high-purity fluidized mattress reactor (FBR) granular polysilicon with Hanwha Q Cells, introduced final September.
“Discontinuing the polysilicon manufacturing at Butte will considerably cut back annual vitality consumption and working prices,” the corporate mentioned in press launch this week.
The polysilicon enterprise will proceed to supply for roughly six to 9 months to satisfy polysilicon provide obligations to the shoppers, mentioned REC Silicon. After the availability obligations are glad, the corporate expects that the workforce in Butte will probably be decreased accordingly. Additional particulars are to be introduced.
“The choice to close down the polysilicon enterprise in Butte was very troublesome from a human perspective due to the affect on REC’s workforce,” mentioned Kurt Levens, REC Silicon’s CEO. “We did every part in our energy to return profitability to the polysilicon enterprise in Butte, nonetheless, forecasts for sustained excessive electrical energy prices which might be exterior of our management necessitated this choice.”
Based on the producer, short- and mid-term will increase in electrical energy pricing within the area just isn’t anticipated to abate and won’t enable for worthwhile operations within the polysilicon enterprise line.
The corporate took short-term mitigative measures that included electrical energy hedging, optimized manufacturing, and elevated gross sales costs. These efforts minimized the losses within the brief time period, however “the choice taken is primarily in regards to the mid- to long-term viability of a really power-intensive polysilicon course of positioned in a excessive electrical energy value area, significantly relative to various producers and areas,” mentioned REC Silicon.
Polysilicon costs have been in free fall amid a rising provide glut, and producers have struggled to show a revenue. In its latest market replace for pv journal, OPIS, a Dow Jones firm, mentioned that polysilicon costs in China fell to CNY 60.25 ($8.40)/kg on Jan. 16, down 51.8% yr on yr.
