Michigan-based Hemlock announced plans for the factory six years ago, at a time when solar-grade polysilicon fetched more than $250/kg on the spot market. Soon after that, the price of polysilicon collapsed, and it has never recovered, currently trading for less than $20/kg.

The biggest blow for Hemlock came last year, when China, home to many of the world’s biggest consumers of polysilicon, announced trade duties on US-made polysilicon.

China