The board of directors of PV wafer, cell and module manufacturer REC ASA, based in Sandvika, Norway, has begun discussions toward a permanent shutdown of parts of its production capacity in Norway.
Due to continued weak market conditions and prospects of significant negative cashflow, REC says it may shut down capacity at its oldest factories – multicrystalline wafer plants at Herøya, a multicrystalline wafer plant in Glomfjord and a solar cell plant in Narvik. These plants represent approximately 775 MW of annual wafer capacity – or 45% of REC's wafer capacity in Norway, as well as 180 MW of solar cell capacity.
Approximately 700 employees are expected to be affected by the potential shutdowns. Operation will continue at the newest multicrystalline wafer plants at Herøya (650 MW annual capacity) and the monocrystalline plant in Glomfjord (300 MW annual capacity).
The integrated wafer, cell and module facility in Singapore (700 MW annual module capacity) and the polysilicon facilities in the U.S. (19.000 metric tons annual polysilicon capacity) will also continue to operate at full capacity, REC adds.