Silicon Makers Ramp Up: Huge increase in raw material will benefit solar industry

From Chemical & Engineering News:

Makers of solar photovoltaics can breathe easier now that leading polysilicon manufacturer Hemlock Semiconductor has more than doubled production at its facility in Hemlock, Mich. Other manufacturers are also increasing capacity this year, which will help to alleviate the pain that shortages have caused the industry.

"Delivering polysilicon from our new facility as quickly as possible was essential to meet our customers' expectations," Chief Operating Officer Rick Doornbos says. Hemlock will increase production by 9,900 tons, bringing the company's total annual capacity to almost 21,000 tons by the end of 2008.

High-purity polysilicon, which differs from the silicon in computer chips in that it consists of multiple crystals rather than a single monolithic crystal, is a major component of semiconductor devices and solar photovoltaics. Silicon is responsible for about 20% of the current cost of solar cells, according to Richard M. Winegarner, president of solar consultancy Sage Concepts.

Hemlock is a joint venture of Dow Corning, Shin-Etsu Handotai, and Mitsubishi Materials. The company plans to continue expanding capacity at the site to more than 39,000 tons by the end of 2011. The plant was built by Dow Corning in 1960, and it expanded production 10 different times by 2006....

...Winegarner forecasts that total capacity will grow to more than 200,000 tons in 2011, up from 45,000 in 2006, and that supply will more than meet demand. It may take two to three years, but analysts predict that contract prices will decrease to $50 per kilogram from an average of $80. "Vendors need to look at the long-term perspective with the assumption that prices will soften from their currently high levels," Sundar says.....MORE