A factory in Moses Lake, Wash., which closed in 2019, is expected to soon resume shipping critical raw materials used in most solar panels, which have been manufactured almost exclusively in China for years.
The revival of the REC Silicon-owned factory supports a long-standing goal of many U.S. lawmakers and energy company executives to re-establish a fully domestic supply chain for solar panels and reduce the world's dependence on factories in China and Southeast Asia. may help achieve this. .
REC Silicon is partnering with Hanwha Q Cells, a South Korean company that has invested billions of dollars in solar panel production in the U.S., to open a factory in November that will make polysilicon, the majority of solar panel components. It has restarted. As part of the deal, Hanwha announced this month that it had become the largest shareholder in Norway-based REC Silicon.
Executives at both companies said they reopened their factories in part because of incentives for domestic manufacturing under President Biden's signature climate law, the Cutting Inflation Act. They expressed hope that their decision would encourage other companies to revive production of technology created in the United States nearly 70 years ago.
“Overall, the U.S. was No. 1,” said Kurt Levens, CEO of REC Silicon. “People forget that. We need more cell manufacturing outside of China.”
Factories in China and Southeast Asia produce more than 95 percent of solar panels that use polysilicon and most of the components that go into those devices. Chinese manufacturers have become so dominant that most US manufacturers have stopped producing polysilicon, including REC silicon.
Industry executives say the tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on solar power imports and the extensive financial and other support it has provided domestic manufacturers over the years have discouraged companies from other countries from competing. He says it is very difficult. The small REC silicon plant in Butte, Montana, and two other large companies, Hemlock and Wacker, still make polysilicon in the United States, but their products are primarily used in semiconductor chips. There is.
The Biden administration has used the Inflation Control Act and other policies to revive the U.S. solar manufacturing industry. This has led to an increase in the production of solar panels and other renewable energy products.
But recently, the administration's efforts have been undermined by a surge in the production of solar panels and their components in China and a significant drop in the prices of those products. That was a boon for panel buyers, such as energy companies building solar farms, but a blow to U.S. manufacturers.
“The various trade measures, oversupply and dumping have essentially made exporting polysilicon nearly impossible,” said Michael Kerr, executive director of the American Federation of Solar Energy Manufacturers, an industry group. “The polysilicon industry has gone through some really difficult times.”
The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, a group of solar manufacturers including Qcells and REC Silicon, filed a complaint Wednesday with the U.S. International Trade Commission and Department of Commerce about potentially illegal trade practices by Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. petition to investigate and impose sanctions. Increased tariffs on products they export to the United States. The complaint focuses on companies headquartered in China.
In addition to the petition's allegations, solar manufacturers have raised concerns about the use of forced labor in the production of polysilicon in China and other Southeast Asian countries, which helps suppliers sell their products at lower prices. The companies claim that they do. Many companies in the solar power industry are committed to avoiding products that rely on forced labor, but tracing and verifying the source of panels and their components can be difficult.
The only U.S. solar manufacturer that has been able to maintain a healthy market share in the industry is First Solar, which produces thin-film panels that do not use polysilicon.
Although researchers and companies are developing other technologies, the polysilicon panels created at Bell Laboratories in 1954 remain “the backbone of silicon solar cells,” says University of South Florida engineering professor and editor-in-chief. Yogi Goswami said. of Solar Compass, the journal of the International Solar Alliance. “America's innovative people have discovered something that no one else can do.”
Qcells said it plans to take over 100 percent of the polysilicon produced by REC Silicon in Moses Lake and sell solar panels produced entirely in the United States. The company manufactures solar panels in Georgia and announced in January 2023 that it would invest $2.5 billion to expand its presence in the state.
REC Silicon processes silicon into polysilicon (a granular substance similar to black pepper). When the company delivers its products later this quarter, Qcells will turn those granules into ingots that will be sliced into solar wafers and assembled into panels that can be placed on rooftops or open spaces.
REC Silicon began operations in November, employing about 200 people and expanding its factory, CEO Levens said. The plant is located on 200 acres in Moses Lake, an agricultural and industrial town in central Washington state.
“This is cleaner, less risky and ultimately can be done domestically, making it a viable long-term solution,” said Daniel Merfeld, global chief technology officer at Qcells. “We are just scratching the surface of the opportunity in the country. This should give policymakers, as well as other solar manufacturers, the confidence to invest. There is room for more power generation capacity.”
Chuck Sutton, vice president of global sales and marketing for REC Silicon, said the company has never given up on the facility, which began production in 1984. “My focus over the last few years has been to find a way to get this plant up and running again,” he said. “We were just trying to bring everything together.”
During a tour of the factory this week, dozens of wooden crates filled with boxes of polysilicon granules were seen on the floor, ready for shipment. REC Silicon executives said they hope this is just the beginning of a new wave of growth for the factory. The company also owns 260 acres of land, which it says it can use for expansion.
Executives said they will explore opportunities to offer their products to more customers, such as Qcells, which is interested in producing ingots and wafers in the United States. Levens said the government may need to provide further incentives for investment in manufacturing.
“It is very important that we as a country make the most of the opportunities that the Inflation Control Act presents,” he said. “You may need more belts or suspenders to accomplish this.”