REC Chief: closing ML plant an 'option'

MOSES LAKE — If the current dispute with China over access to the country’s market for polysilicon is not solved, REC Silicon could close its production facility in Moses Lake, according to President and CEO Tore Torvund.

“I will not be firm on either closing or operating the plant, it depends on what will be the market,” Torvund said during a recent conference call. “It might be an option if nothing is happening between the U.S. and China.”

During the conference call, Torvund said Monday’s round of 100 layoffs at its Moses Lake production facility was a way of “adjusting the workforce and spending” so REC could keep the plant operating “in the short term.”

“It’s a regrettable situation for employees,” Torvund said. “It is a necessary adjustment so we can continue to operate.”

He appealed to President Donald Trump to find some way of opening the Chinese market to REC’s product, which is currently kept out of China by a roughly 56 percent tariff.

“We have a very competitive technology, employees who know how to operate, and we’re the only company using this technology,” Torvund said. “We are making a strong appeal to the U.S. administration to end the dispute with China so we can continue to operate.”

According to an REC press release, the company invested around $1.7 billion in the Moses Lake facility, which makes polysilicon used in created silicon wafers for solar panels. In 2011, the company made $1 billion from its U.S. operations and employed around 900 people.

Torvund said that as a result of the layoffs, the Moses Lake plant will run at about 25 percent of capacity. Because there is no U.S. silicon wafer industry, and little prospect of creating one, Torvund said the company is staying afloat through its customers in Taiwan.

He also said the company’s Butte facility, which makes silane gas used in making thin film silicon displays and semiconductors, is unaffected by the current dispute with China.

“We see a strong demand for polysilicon gas,” he said.

However, after the Trump Administration imposed 30 percent tariffs on imported solar panels, several firms have announced they will start building or assembling solar panels in the United States. In late June, South Korea-based LG Electronics announced it would start building solar panels at an existing LG plant in Huntsville, Ala., while in April San Jose, Calif.,-based SunPower said it would start building panels at a factory in Hillsboro, Ore.

Torvund said that 90 percent of silicon wafer production — wafers are the essential components of solar cells as well as numerous other electronic components — is in China. Which means that REC simply cannot sell to them.

“It’s sad one of the best companies is not getting access to a market,” Torvund said. “We’re not asking for subsidies, just a fair trading environment.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.