Wacker delays start-up of $1.5bn Tennessee polysilicon plant

German chemical group Wacker Chemie is to delay by 18 months the start of operations at its new $1.5bn polysilicon plant in the US state of Tennessee.

Wacker says the dire state of the PV market means the plant will not now start production of the solar raw-material until mid-2015, rather than the end of next year as planned.

The 15,000-tonne plant at Charleston is the largest investment in Wacker’s history, but the polysilicon market has changed drastically since it broke ground at the site in April 2011.

Releasing its third-quarter financial results today, the German group says its polysilicon sold at a 40% discount in the three months ending September when compared to the same period in 2011.

That pushed…

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