MOSES LAKE — The owners of REC Silicon announced Dec. 31 the company would shutter its Moses Lake facility, with the closure projected to take about three months.

Both polysilicon and silane gas were produced in Moses Lake. Polysilicon is used in the manufacture of solar panels and in the electronics industry. Silicon gas is used in battery production, among other things. 

“Production of polysilicon will be discontinued at the Moses Lake facility, while equipment involved in the production of silicon gases will be maintained in a safe and recoverable mode that incurs minimal interim costs, allowing the unit to restart with reasonable notice,” the press release said.  

The company ceased its polysilicon production in Butte, Montana earlier this year. 

The ultimate fate of the Moses Lake facility is still to be determined, said Chuck Sutton, REC vice president for polysilicon sales and government relations.  

“We are maintaining the facility for strategic optionality,” Sutton wrote in answer to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. 

One possibility is using the Moses Lake facility to produce only the silicon gases. 

“The production process for REC Silicon at both the Moses Lake site and the Butte site starts with producing silane gas. That silane gas can then be sold into the market as is or used to make polysilicon or other silicon gases,” Sutton said. 

The facility uses a lot of power, which will have an impact on the operations of the Grant County Public Utility District. Utility district officials were asked about that, and Andy Wendell, senior manager of large power solutions, said the PUD has other customers for the electricity REC is not using, although REC may eventually need some of it.  

“It appears REC is preparing to have an option to ramp up the silane gas portion of its business, as needed, in the near future,” Wendell wrote in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. “The much larger portion of their energy use has always been for silane production.”

The company does have some options when it comes to power use, Wendell said.  

“REC may choose to keep its energy needs on reserve by continuing to pay the minimum monthly charge set in (the rate classes it qualifies for), but this is considered a temporary measure and not intended for long-term curtailment,” he said.  

While REC uses a lot of electricity, it’s a relatively small amount of the PUD’s current customer base, Wendell said. 

“REC’s reduction in power demand marginally reduces our daily average total power obligation to our customers by less than 3%,” Wendell said.  

The company shut down production in Moses Lake in 2019, but announced in 2022 it would be reopening. According to previous Columbia Basin Herald reporting, Hanwa Solutions, a solar panel maker in South Korea, purchased a 21% share in REC in late 2021 and early 2022.  

Production hadn’t fully ramped up by the time of the closure announcement. Initial production in Moses Lake was found to have what the company called “higher than expected levels of impurity.”  

Modifications were made to the facility, and in September REC officials announced that all impurities had been reduced to levels acceptable to its primary customer, who was not named.  

“After these modifications, we had an agreement in principle with our customer, but that agreement was subject to a final evaluation and qualification test, which is typical in our industry after such a modification,” Sutton said. “REC Silicon clearly communicated that the outcome of testing, as with any qualification process of this sort, remained a risk.” 

The test was conducted in China. 

“It was REC Silicon’s customer who decided which company to use for qualification testing and therefore where the qualification material was sent. Qualification of this sort requires an operating entity that is familiar with working with granular silicon, and the global availability of such facilities is limited and highly concentrated,” Sutton said. “REC Silicon’s understanding is that the customer chose the best available option.” 

The sample failed the test, which was announced in a Dec. 17 press release. According to the press release the customer couldn’t wait any longer, and the decision was made to end polysilicon production in Moses Lake.  

“As a matter of policy of a publicly traded company, we cannot comment speculation in any form, including regarding future production levels,” Sutton wrote. “However, I want to highlight two items to clarify the company’s silane gas production capabilities. First, all of REC Silicon’s current silane gas supply comes from the Butte facility. Second, the equipment at the Moses Lake facility involved in the production of silane gases will be maintained in a safe and recoverable mode that enables the unit to restart with reasonable notice in response to customer demand.” 

    In a release Dec. 31, REC Silicon announced the company would be stopping production at its Moses Lake plant.
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    A failed test to check for impurities led to the closure of the REC Silicon facility, announced in late December.
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