
Owners of REC Silicon have announced the company will end production at its Moses Lake facility, according to a press release issued Monday, Dec. 30th, 2024. The shutdown is expected to take about three months.
“Production of polysilicon will be discontinued at the Moses Lake facility, while equipment involved in the production of silicon gases will be maintained in a safe and recoverable mode that incurs minimal interim costs, allowing the unit to restart with reasonable notice,” the press release said. “Once the shutdown process (in Moses Lake) is complete, REC Silicon will have completely discontinued the production of polysilicon.” The company closed its polysilicon production in Butte, Montana early in 2024 and now produces silane gas at the facility.
In regard to the Moses Lake facility closure, REC Silicon said in its documents that it was unable to produce sufficiently pure polysilicon as was required by Hanwha. The South Korean solar panel maker Hanwha Solutions became the largest shareholder of REC Silicon in April 2022 and planned to use the majority of the material produced in Washington.
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