* By Chuck Howitt, Record staff
* Tue Jun 14 2011

Arise revives plans for Kitchener silicon plant

WATERLOO — Arise Technologies has revived plans for pilot plant in Kitchener to produce high-quality silicon for the solar energy market in Ontario.

The company said Tuesday it will begin installing the first pre-commercial silicon furnace at 95 Washburn Dr. over the summer.

The furnace will be used to test and validate future commercial furnaces used in the refining of silicon, which is used to make photovoltaic cells to convert solar energy into electricity.

Waterloo-based Arise announced plans to open a silicon feedstock pilot plant in 2008, but shelved those plans when the recession hit in 2009.

The Kitchener plant will be “operational” in the fourth quarter of this year, but commercial production of silicon won’t begin until 2012, company spokesperson Elizabeth Vainionpaa said in an interview.

To prepare the plant for production, Arise said it has successfully produced more than 400 kilograms of silicon in Waterloo and Europe using proprietary methods and tested its furnace reactor and support equipment.

The company estimates the plant will cost $20 million, with $6.4 million coming from the federal government’s Sustainable Development Technology Canada program.

Arise also released its first quarter results on Tuesday.

Revenues for the quarter ending March 31 fell to $10.9 million from $16.2 million a year ago as the company was impacted by severe winter weather in Europe and continuing uncertainty over subsidy programs in Germany and Italy.

Arise has operated a solar-cell manufacturing plant in Germany since 2008.

The company was able to record a profit of $2.4 million for the quarter after saving $8.4 million by renegotiating a contract with a major silicon wafer supplier. In the first quarter a year ago, the company lost $5.9 million.

Arise also announced that it has terminated a joint venture with Sky Solar to assist with solar-panel installations.

Approval delays for rooftop installations in Ontario prompted the cancellation, chief executive Dan Shea said in a conference call. He noted that some customers are adopting a wait and see approach until after the Ontario election in the fall.

With the Tories threatening to cut subsidies if elected, Shea said the solar industry would still be viable in Ontario with a top subsidy of 40 cents per kilowatt hour.