BFW 10/16 19:57 *SUNEDISON IN TALKS FOR $2 BILLION POLYSILICON PLANT IN CHINA
SunEdison in Talks for $2 Billion Polysilicon Plant in China
2014-10-16 19:55:02.467 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- SunEdison Inc., the best-performing
U.S. solar company this year, is in talks with a Chinese company
about investing as much as $2 billion to build a polysilicon
factory in China.
The plant will have “the lowest cost” in the industry if
it’s in China, SunEdison President Ahmad Chatila said yesterday
in an interview in Beijing. The cash cost for making the
commodity used in solar panels will be less than $6 a kilogram,
about $2 below the next lowest competitor, he said.
The decision is the latest sign of recovery in the solar
industry after a capacity glut depressed prices and margins for
manufacturers worldwide. GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. of China
and Wacker Chemie AG in Germany, two of the biggest makers of
polysilicon, are expanding production of the commodity that
sells for $20.96 a kilogram.
The plant will have a capacity of about 20,000 to 30,000
metric tons a year with ultra-fluid-bed-reactor technology,
Chatila said. SunEdison, based in St. Peters, Missouri,
currently has polysilicon capacity of 17,000 tons and is also
considering a plant in Saudi Arabia, Chatila said.
The company also signed an agreement yesterday with JIC
Capital, the fund management unit of China Jianyin Investment
Ltd., to set up a new energy fund with a total investment of
$220 million. The fund will invest to build about 1 gigawatt of
solar power plants in China over three years.
“Initially, we’ll start utility-scale,” and projects may
include rooftop solar projects in the future, Chatila said.
More Than Manufacturing
SunEdison intends to broaden itself beyond manufacturing
into building and operating power plants, Chatila said.
SunEdison, he said, will “bring a great reputation for a great
project that makes money for investors all the time” and “use
the most advanced technique to reduce costs more than any other
people.”
“China will build the most power infrastructure in the
next 20 years,” Chatila said. “What’s limiting companies like
us in getting into China is getting project financing, and now
that’s available.”
Last month, the company filed forms that may allow it to
establish a yieldco alongside its existing TerraForm Power Inc.
That entity would pay dividends from revenue coming from
operating power plants.
The move would offer SunEdison exposure to assets in Asia
and Africa for the first time, adding to yieldcos now operating
in the U.S. and Europe.
In June, the company said it will jointly develop 1.7
gigawatts of solar power projects in China with Chinese solar
wafer manufacturer Huantai Group over the next five years.
Construction may not start this year, Chatila said.
For Related News and Information:
SunEdison news: SUNE <Equity> CN BN <GO>
Most-read alternative energy stories: MNI ALTNRG <GO>
For top news on renewable energy: TOP ENV <GO>
New Energy Finance news and analysis: BNEF <GO>
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Feifei Shen in Beijing at +86-10-6649-7528 or
fshen11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net
Alex Devine
2014-10-16 19:55:02.467 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- SunEdison Inc., the best-performing
U.S. solar company this year, is in talks with a Chinese company
about investing as much as $2 billion to build a polysilicon
factory in China.
The plant will have “the lowest cost” in the industry if
it’s in China, SunEdison President Ahmad Chatila said yesterday
in an interview in Beijing. The cash cost for making the
commodity used in solar panels will be less than $6 a kilogram,
about $2 below the next lowest competitor, he said.
The decision is the latest sign of recovery in the solar
industry after a capacity glut depressed prices and margins for
manufacturers worldwide. GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. of China
and Wacker Chemie AG in Germany, two of the biggest makers of
polysilicon, are expanding production of the commodity that
sells for $20.96 a kilogram.
The plant will have a capacity of about 20,000 to 30,000
metric tons a year with ultra-fluid-bed-reactor technology,
Chatila said. SunEdison, based in St. Peters, Missouri,
currently has polysilicon capacity of 17,000 tons and is also
considering a plant in Saudi Arabia, Chatila said.
The company also signed an agreement yesterday with JIC
Capital, the fund management unit of China Jianyin Investment
Ltd., to set up a new energy fund with a total investment of
$220 million. The fund will invest to build about 1 gigawatt of
solar power plants in China over three years.
“Initially, we’ll start utility-scale,” and projects may
include rooftop solar projects in the future, Chatila said.
More Than Manufacturing
SunEdison intends to broaden itself beyond manufacturing
into building and operating power plants, Chatila said.
SunEdison, he said, will “bring a great reputation for a great
project that makes money for investors all the time” and “use
the most advanced technique to reduce costs more than any other
people.”
“China will build the most power infrastructure in the
next 20 years,” Chatila said. “What’s limiting companies like
us in getting into China is getting project financing, and now
that’s available.”
Last month, the company filed forms that may allow it to
establish a yieldco alongside its existing TerraForm Power Inc.
That entity would pay dividends from revenue coming from
operating power plants.
The move would offer SunEdison exposure to assets in Asia
and Africa for the first time, adding to yieldcos now operating
in the U.S. and Europe.
In June, the company said it will jointly develop 1.7
gigawatts of solar power projects in China with Chinese solar
wafer manufacturer Huantai Group over the next five years.
Construction may not start this year, Chatila said.
For Related News and Information:
SunEdison news: SUNE <Equity> CN BN <GO>
Most-read alternative energy stories: MNI ALTNRG <GO>
For top news on renewable energy: TOP ENV <GO>
New Energy Finance news and analysis: BNEF <GO>
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Feifei Shen in Beijing at +86-10-6649-7528 or
fshen11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net
Alex Devine