Saudi Arabia's IDEA to Build Polysilicon Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In March, IDEA International Investment & Development (Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia) announced plans to develop a grassroot polysilicon manufacturing facility near Jeddah, some 650 kilometers from Al Ryiad. IDEA has been developing the project for the past three years. This is the company's first venture into polysilicon production. In April, IDEA was able to secure land in the Primary Industrial Area of Yanbu Industrial City for the project. The company also announced that it had recently completed a feasibility study confirming that the Yanbu manufacturing site would have the lowest production costs in the world.

IDEA has received a great deal of support from the Royal Commission of Yanbu (Yanbu Al Bahr, Saudi Arabia) and will be working closely with Saudi Arabia's National Industrial Cluster Development Program in order to begin construction in the second quarter of 2011. Completion is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2012.

The $500 million Yanbu plant will produce 5,000 metric tons of polysilicon per year. A 1,500-metric-ton portion will be dedicated to the production of 9N silicon, which will be used to produce ingots. These ingots will serve as feedstock for approximately 55 million solar-grade wafers. The remaining 3,500-metric-ton portion will consist of 11N silicon, which is used in the electronics and semi-conductor industries.

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