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Washington, DC – Today, Highland Materials, a U.S. manufacturer of polysilicon and a member of the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition, received a $255.6 million allocation for the48C tax credits to build a next-generation polysilicon plant. This is the first new commercial polysilicon plant to be built following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act.
Highland has a unique, patent protected silicon purification technology that enables production at less than standard cost of its competitors with a 90% reduction in carbon emissions compared to other major players. With their new facility, Highland will produce 16,000 Metric Tons (MT/year) of solar silicon initially, increasing to 20,000 MT in four years – the equivalent of over 10 GW of solar cells.
“We are excited about the Department of Energy’s sign of support for Highland and our technology,” said Richard Rast, President of Highland Materials. “By commercializing our silicon purification technology,we as an American company can continue to innovate on American soil with significantly less cost andcarbon emissions than other manufacturers. We are grateful to the SEMA Coalition staff who helped us through this process.”
“This polysilicon plant heralds a new era in U.S. solar production. The SEMA Coalition has been emphasizing the importance of securing domestic production in the high-value upstream steps of the supply chain -- polysilicon and wafer production -- and this represents a real milestone. We’re grateful to the Biden administration, Congress, and Highland for making it happen,” Mike Carr, Executive Director of the SEMA Coalition. “This is a fundamental piece of restoring American energy security and we look forward to continuing to work with the Administration.”
The SEMA Coalition recently released a report, commissioned and authored by Guidehouse Insights, that highlights the opportunity to onshore this critical strategic industry for U.S. energy security and investigates the challenges posed by the interests that currently dominate the industry. The report provides an assessment of the current U.S. silicon solar manufacturing capacity and capabilities, the benefits of onshoring, and policy recommendations for how the Biden administration can respond to recent pressures to facilitate the necessary transition to a U.S.-based solar manufacturing supply chain.
Contact:
Philippa Martinez-Berrier
philippa@semacoalition.org
