Corning will make solar wafers in Michigan

By Kelly Pickerel | October 29, 2024

Hemlock Semiconductor and parent company Corning Inc. are taking advantage of tax credits established by the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act to increase their involvement in the solar manufacturing market. Solar Power World has confirmed that in addition to increased polysilicon production for the solar market, the companies in Hemlock, Michigan, will soon manufacture silicon ingots and wafers for solar panels.

Credit: Hemlock

Hemlock has a long association with the domestic polysilicon market, once producing nearly one-quarter of the global polysilicon supply in the early 2010s along with fellow U.S. producers REC Silicon and Wacker Chemie. The trio scaled back their domestic polysilicon production around 2013 after China increased production and priced them out of the market. REC Silicon only recently restarted its operations in Moses Lake, Washington, to make polysilicon for Qcells solar panels made in America.

In a 2022 earnings call, Corning chairman and CEO Wendell Weeks commented that Hemlock restarted idle capacity for “take-or-pay contracts for solar-grade polysilicon.”

“We believe that Corning’s broader technical and manufacturing capabilities will prove to be highly relevant and helping advance the renewable energy industry, and we see excellent growth potential in solar,” Weeks said.

Last week, the Dept. of Commerce announced it had signed a preliminary memorandum of terms with Hemlock to provide up to $325 million in funding from the CHIPS and Science Act to increase production of semiconductor-grade polysilicon production. The funding will support construction of a new facility on Hemlock’s existing Michigan campus.

This new facility is separate from a $900 million new manufacturing site announced in February. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. has set aside nearly $110 million in funding for Corning and its new subsidiary Solar Technology LLC to build a facility manufacturing “solar components” near the Hemlock Semiconductor site, creating over 1,100 jobs. After the recent news from the Treasury Dept. that solar wafer manufacturing operations could take advantage of the 25% 48D Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (CHIPS ITC), local news reported that Corning would receive 48D credits at the Solar Technology facility to produce wafers for the solar market.

Solar Power World has reached out to Corning, Hemlock and rumored partners, and has only received confirmation that a wafer factory is in the works. No details on the size or timeline have been revealed.

There is currently only one wafer manufacturer in the United States close to operation — Qcells in Georgia, which will use REC Silicon polysilicon to produce the country’s only silicon solar panel with an all-American supply chain. NorSun announced it would build a wafer factory in Oklahoma, but construction has yet to begin. Corning’s Michigan wafer factory would be the third wafer facility planned in the United States.