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Silicor Materials Forges Deals To Make Iceland A Link In The Solar Supply Chain

Silicor Materials has signed a contract with Denmark-based engineering firm MT Hojgaard for the design and construction of its planned silicon plant in Grundartangi, Iceland, that will supply manufacturers of photovoltaic cells.

The $226.5 million contract provides for the building of a 121,000 square-meter facility that is expected to produce 16,000 metric tons (MT) of Silicor’s solar-grade silicon per year. The agreement is the latest link in a chain of deals the company has forged to realize its plan to produce raw material for the solar sector at a fraction of its current cost. In April, Silicor signed port and land agreements with Faxafloahafnir SF to provide logistics and shipping services.

Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in early 2016.

Terry Jester, CEO of Silicor Materials, says Iceland was something of an outlier in the company’s search for a location for commercial-scale operations. Jester says a U.S. location was ruled out because of the country’s volatility in solar trade relations with China, the principal market for silicon. “Optimists say these issues will be resolved, but optimism is not necessarily a good basis for a business plan,” she says.

At the same time, China was quickly crossed off the list due to concerns over the protection of intellectual property. Saudi Arabia and Malaysia were considered and discarded. Silicor Materials has a pilot production facility in Toronto with a capacity of about 1,000 MT; however, the costs associated with building a commercial-scale facility there were deemed too high. Silicor finally got around to Iceland.

“We went to Iceland with a lot of skepticism,” Jester says.

However, the economics and business climate of the island nation proved to fit well into Silicor’s business plan. The abundance of geothermal and hydropower results in very inexpensive electricity costs. Iceland’s existing metallurgy industries have significant aluminum and silicon expertise, which dovetails nicely with the two most important materials used in Silicor’s process.

Perhaps most importantly, Iceland has been welcoming.

“There is a desire there to be part of the solar business chain, albeit not with regard to installing panels because of the weather,” Jester says. “But there is interest in being part of the solar supply chain.”

Silicor received its environmental permit within 60 days. The company’s detailed master plan was granted within a year, which Jester says is a very short time when it comes to building processing plants in Iceland. “I think our partnership with Iceland really promotes the environmental agenda it is so proud of and believes in,” she says. “The partnership also makes use of the expertise and business units already in the country in a positive way.”

From Silicor’s perspective, the relatively inexpensive commercial energy costs in Iceland improve the payback time for solar modules produced using the company’s process. Jester says the capital expenditures for the equipment needed for Silicor’s production method is about one-third of those needed for traditional means. Silicor’s method produced a grade of “solar silicon” that, although not suitable for semiconductors, is high enough quality for PV. In March, Silicor signed a factory supply agreement with Germany-based SMS Siemag for all equipment and factory design services for the Iceland plant.

According to Jester, the initial production figure of 16,000 MT could be goosed another 20% or so if demand permits. She says most of the initial capacity has already been contracted for, mostly by customers in China.

“For us, it’s just a matter of getting this first plant built,” Jester says. “After that, I don’t think there is going to be any problem at all getting financing for additional facilities.”

- Michael Puttré

 

SunEdison To Acquire Vivint Solar In $2.2 Billion Deal

SunEdison Inc. has signed a deal to acquire residential installer Vivint Solar for approximately $2.2 billion, payable in a combination of cash, shares of SunEdison common stock and SunEdison convertible notes.

In connection with this proposed acquisition, a subsidiary of TerraForm Power will acquire Vivint Solar’s rooftop solar portfolio, which is expected to total 523 MW by the end of the year. The cash transaction is valued at $922 million.

In addition, TerraForm Power will acquire future completed residential and small commercial projects from SunEdison’s expanded residential and small commercial business unit.

According to the terms of the acquisition, Vivint Solar will be folded into SunEdison’s existing residential and small commercial development business. The Vivint Solar management team will then join SunEdison. SunEdison says the transaction is intended to accelerate its existing business in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.

The merger requires the approval of Vivint Solar stockholders. 313 Acquisition LLC, which owns approximately 77% of the outstanding Vivint Solar shares, has agreed to vote in favor of the adoption of the merger agreement, subject to certain termination events.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory requirements.

“SunEdison’s acquisition of Vivint Solar is a logical next step in the transformation of our platform after the successful execution of our First Wind acquisition in January,” says Ahmad Chatila, CEO of SunEdison and chairman of TerraForm Power.

“SunEdison and TerraForm Power have built a unique model that recognizes the value of long-term, predictable, contracted cashflows from our residential solar portfolio, while providing access to a broad pool of financing at an attractive cost of capital,” says Greg Butterfield, Vivint Solar’s CEO. “We are excited to join the SunEdison residential and small commercial team, which has successfully developed a wide range of channels complementing those at Vivint Solar, both in the U.S. and globally.”

 

REC Solar Adds To Commercial Solar Pipeline And Talent With Stellar Energy Acquisition

San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based REC Solar has acquired Rohnert Park, Calif.-based Stellar Energy.

Both companies have a strong focus on commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects. Al Bucknam, CEO of REC Solar, says that although Stellar Energy’s project portfolio and geographic footprint fit well with his company, the addition of sales, project management and technical talent in key vertical markets was the main factor in the acquisition.

“The deal is about the pipeline and the people,” Bucknam says. “Stellar Energy has a very experienced group. As we are looking to aggressively grow, the Stellar Energy team fit right in with our needs.”

REC Solar says it plans to retain most of Stellar Energy’s personnel. Ted Walsh, president of Stellar Energy, will join REC Solar as vice president of business development. Stellar Energy has clients in the agriculture; food and beverage; manufacturing; mining and energy; and entertainment industries, as well as school districts and municipalities. Bucknam says Stellar Energy’s expertise in each of these sectors will help REC Solar build its C&I business.

At the same time, the acquisition will provide REC Solar with more than 60 MW from 62 solar projects, bringing its portfolio to over 200 MW installed or under construction. Most of these projects are in northern California; however, there are also projects on the East Coast, including New York. REC Solar is also gaining an additional 28 MW of operations and maintenance contracts.

“One attractive element, geographically, is Stellar Energy’s main office in the Bay Area,” Bucknam says. “In addition to the existing personnel, the location will help our ability to recruit new talent in that area.”

REC Solar will likely search for a new office facility in the Bay Area that has warehouse space where it can stage projects.

Earlier this year, Duke Energy acquired a majority stake in REC Solar. Bucknam credits this relationship as an important factor in the company’s C&I expansion. “The fact that we have the investment we received from Duke to finance our solar projects makes us a more attractive owner of a company like Stellar Energy,” he says. “From their team’s perspective, I’m sure they have found us to be a better home by virtue of our relationship with Duke.” - Michael Puttré

 

Natcore Ready To Commercialize New Solar Cell Structure

Natcore Technology Inc.’s research and development (R&D) center in Rochester, N.Y., has developed a new solar cell structure that it says will simplify the production process, lower costs and speed the path toward ultra-high-efficiency cells.

Natcore’s new cell is an advancement of the silicon heterojunction (SHJ) cell structure that other researchers have used to achieve world-record silicon solar cell efficiencies. The new cell structure also has the potential to completely eliminate silver from mass-manufactured silicon solar cells.

Natcore says that, due to the success of its R&D efforts, it will now begin soliciting license agreements for its SHJ technology. Parallel to its commercialization efforts, the company says it will continue to refine and improve its SHJ cells, including a second-generation structure that will not use silver.

The new SHJ cell is an all-back contact structure using thin amorphous silicon layers in combination with a standard crystalline silicon solar wafer. The cell could support a packaging approach in which a flex circuit is directly bonded to multiple small contact pads by high-speed laser fusion.

Natcore says the approach eliminates front surface contacts, which are costly and block some incoming light. Also, the cell-to-module packaging can be accomplished with low-cost, alignment-tolerant bonding.

“All of our tests to date demonstrate that we’re on the optimum path toward very high efficiencies with manufacturing solutions that are low cost and do not require complex process equipment,” says David Levy, Natcore’s director of research and technology.