Singapore-based PV module manufacturer REC Group this week closed its polysilicon production activities in Kristiansand and Porsgrunn, Norway.
“We have reached the point where it is unfortunately not possible to make the production of high-purity silicon in Norway viable,” REC's CEO, Jan Enno Bicker, said in a press release distributed among Norwegian media.
“We compete with Chinese companies that have an electricity price of NOK 0.40 ($0.037) per kWh. Right now, we are paying more than ten times that sum in the spot market.”
The company has not responded to pv magazine‘s request for additional comment.
Popular content
REC reportedly restarted production at its facilities in Norway in March, but it then shut it down again in August, citing high electricity prices.
According to Norwegian TV channel NRK, REC's activities in Norway have accumulated losses in the amount of NOK335 million ($31.2 million). The closing of the production is expected to affect around 250 workers.
Norwegian solar producers Norwegian Crystals and Norsun also recently announced they halted their wafer operations, with the former filing for insolvency in late August. Meanwhile, Norsun announced plans to open a 5 GW factory in the United States.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
2 comments
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.