Asian Firms Expand Solar Polysilicon

South Korea’s OCI will spend $285 million to expand its output of polysilicon used in solar cells. In June, OCI announced plans to add 5,000 metric tons of annual polysilicon capacity to its plant in Gunsan, South Korea, by October 2011. The company now says the capacity increase will be 8,000 metric tons by the same date. The expansion will bring OCI’s total capacity to 35,000 metric tons, making it the largest polysilicon producer in the world, the firm claims. Meanwhile, Japan’s Tokuyama has raised its estimate of how much it is investing in a polysilicon plant on the island of Borneo to $945 million, an increase of $175 million. Tokuyama says its prior estimate, disclosed in August 2009, did not include infrastructure and utilities. The 6,000-metric-ton plant is scheduled to start production early next year. Separately, China’s LDK Solar says it has started production at a 5,000-metric-ton polysilicon plant in China’s Jiangxi province.