SunEdison plans polysilicon plants in China, S Arabia - report

Oct 17, 2014 - US company SunEdison Inc (NYSE:SUNE) intends to build a large polysilicon production facility in China and also has plans for a factory in Saudi Arabia.

In an interview on Thursday, president Ahmad Chatila told Bloomberg that the solar company is holding talks with a Chinese firm to invest USD 2 billion (EUR 1.56bn) in a polysilicon plant. The factory will use ultra-fluid-bed-reactor technology and will have a manufacturing capacity of between 20,000 tonnes and 30,000 tonnes annually. The new base will lift significantly the US firm’s polysilicon capacity, which currently stands at 17,000 tonnes.

The cost for making polysilicon at the Chinese facility will be less than USD 6.00 per kg, lower than SunEdison’s next lowest competitor, according to the report.

This news comes only a few days after GTM Research projected that global polysilicon production capacity will rise to 481,000 tonnes in 2018, surpassing even the upper end of demand projections for 416,000 tonnes. The forecast indicates that the industry may once again face polysilicon overcapacity as early as 2016, the market research firm alarmed, adding that an estimated minimum of 60 GW of PV installations will be required to fill the gap between supply and demand at that time.

In addition to the manufacturing plans, SunEdison on Thursday unveiled a partnership deal with asset management company JIC Capital. Through a joint unit they will aim to invest in up to 1 GW of utility-scale solar capacity over the next 3 years.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.781)

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