Wacker Chemie said today that it plans to build a $1 billion polysilicon production facility in Bradley County, Tenn., to supply the solar and semiconductor industries, taking advantage of what it said are cheap electricity rates, as well as other state and local incentives. This follows in the footsteps of competitor Hemlock Semiconductor, which said in December that it’s also planning to build a polysilicon plant in the state.
Both companies are building new plants despite a reported polysilicon glut. The global credit crunch has slowed down demand for solar panels, driving down polysilicon prices just as new supplies of the main solar panel ingredient hit the market. But Germany’s Wacker Chemie, with a market capitalization of $3.3 billion, and Hemlock, Mich.-based Hemlock Semiconductor, backed by Dow Corning, are probably big enough to ride out the storm. And the recently signed stimulus bill could spark a boom in the U.S. solar industry.
Wacker Chemie didn’t say if the new plant will specifically serve the U.S. market, but president and CEO Rudolf Staudigl said in a statement that the company expects a boost in polysilicon demand from the solar and the semiconductor industries in the coming years, and that the Tennessee site will help the company quickly build up capacities outside of the euro zone.
The company has already bought the land for the new plant, paying almost $20 million for a 550-acre greenfield site near the Hiwassee Industrial Park. The package of incentives from the state and local governments include provisions for transportation access and a reliable source for water, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally-owned power utility, is serving up an industrial electricity rate that Wacker Chemie said is about half of what it would pay at comparable sites in Germany.
The plant is expected to create 500 jobs in the state and is reportedly set to start producing polysilicon in 2012. The Hemlock Semiconductor facility is also scheduled to open in 2012, employing up to 800 workers.
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2009\/02\/26\/tennessee-the-polysilicon-state\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_dc147fe868426bc80c5f254f2b4491bd","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}