Solar energy systems aren’t possible without the right raw materials, and one of those materials is polysilicon. According to a research note from BNP Paribas, polysilicon is a pure form of silicon that is melted at high temperatures to form ingots. The ingots are then sliced into wafers and processed into solar cells and modules.
Because polysilicon is so vital to the solar energy industry, the federal government offers financial incentives for companies to produce more of the material. An example was announced in April when the United States Department of Energy (DOE) allocated $255.6 million in 48C tax credits to Highland Materials to build a polysilicon plant in the U.S.
Photo Courtesy View Point / National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2021
Highland Materials is a Johnson City, Tennessee-based manufacturer of purified silicon that launched operations in 2006. According to its website, the company’s patented silicon purification technology enables Highland to produce high-purity material with a 90% reduction in carbon emissions compared to other major manufacturers.
According to an April 22 news release, the new facility is expected to have an initial annual capacity of 16,000 metric tons (MT) of solar silicon.
Production should increase to 20,000 MT in four years, which would be equivalent to 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar cells, according to the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition.
The coalition also said the Highland Facility is the first new commercial polysilicon plant to be built in the U.S. since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022.
Photo Courtesy Highland Materials
A specific location for the polysilicon plant was not disclosed at the time of the announcement. No date was given on when it will begin commercial operations, either.
According to the news release, Highland Materials was one of the 100-plus companies awarded tax credits from the government under the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit (48C) scheme. That scheme recently set aside $4 billion for tax credits, $2.7 billion of which is earmarked for use in clean energy manufacturing projects.
Established in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 48C is an “allocated tax credit” funded by the current administration’s “Investing in America agenda,” according to the DOE. It aims to accelerate clean energy manufacturing and recycling and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities.
Photo Courtesy Highland Materials
“We are excited about the Department of Energy’s sign of support for Highland and our technology,” Richard Rast, president of Highland Materials, said in a statement. “By commercializing our silicon purification technology, we as an American company can continue to innovate on American soil with significantly less cost and carbon emissions than other manufacturers.”
Highland claims that its solar-grade polysilicon uses a proprietary technology that is more environmentally friendly than current technologies while also “delivering performance on par with these technologies.”
According to Highland, although the IRA has led to tens of billions of dollars in public and private investments in clean energy technologies, polysilicon announcements have been rare since the law was passed.
Photo Courtesy Highland Materials
“This polysilicon plant heralds a new era in U.S. solar production,” Mike Carr, executive director of the SEMA Coalition, said in a press release. “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.”
