AE Polysilicon: Preliminary Plan Approved

Construction has not begun yet.
Phase 1 Polysilicon Production still set to start August 2008?

This post includes supplementary information regarding AE Polysilicon Corporation (http://www.aepolysilicon-nj.com) and complements the article, Silicon Setback, by Jennifer Kho at Greentech Media.

Where is AE Polysilicon located?

First, I wanted to provide closure to my quest In Search of AE Polysilicon. The facts indicate AE Polysilicon’s 32 acres were subdivided from the Keystone Industrial Port Complex (KIPC) Phase 4, Lot 5 even though the AE Polysilicon location is not shown on the KIPC Current Tenant List or Map. This area was circled in a presentation by Motech Solar CEO Dr. Yuan-Huai Simon Tsuo at the 4th Renewable Energy Finance Forum - Wall Street on June 20, 2007. Falls Township approved a subdivision plan earlier this summer, and AE Polysilicon has now purchased the 32 acre parcel per NAI GLOBAL NYC TEAM ARRANGES SALE OF 2 PROPERTIES AT KEYSTONE INDUSTRIAL.

Preliminary Land Development Plan

The above Preliminary Land Development Plan was presented at the October 16, 2007, meeting of the Falls Township Board of Supervisors. My annotations reflect the details disclosed by the Showalter & Associates engineer. Further information was provided by AE Polysilicon representative Chris Chang while addressing questions from the Supervisors and interested citizens.

Cell #1 will be constructed in Phase 1, and Mr. Chang said:

We plan to start commissioning in June 2008 and start the production in August … 2008.

We plan for the First phase for 1500 metric tons of Polysilicon, and then gradually we are going to move to Phase 2 and our ultimate goal will be 12000 tons.

Mr. Chang stated the capital investment for the facility has grown to more than $100 Million from the previous $70 Million.

Given that the plan calls for four identical cells to achieve the full plant build out goal of 12000 metric tons of annual production capacity, quick math indicates Cell #1 will either be operated at a lower initial throughput pending advancement along the learning curve or only half its capacity will be built in Phase 1.

After the AE Polysilicon presentation, supervisor questions, and public comment, the Falls Township Board of Supervisors voted to approve resolution #07-32, the AE POLYSILICON - PRELIMINARY LAND DEVELOPMENT plan. Although AE Polysilicon’s attorney mentioned they would seek the final land development plan approval in November 2007, the online supervisor agenda does not appear to include this topic delaying the process another two (2) weeks to one month.

An online video of AE Polysilicon’s presentation and discussion is available at the Falls Township Board Of Supervisors Meeting - October 16, 2007 (click on Part 2 of 5 - 8:31pm to 9:28pm (timestamp range 8:33:30 to 8:55:20).

The AE Polysilicon Announcement - Full Press Conference Video with Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell from April 14, 2007, can be viewed here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Jonathan Snipes, Chairman of the Falls Township Board of Supervisors, and Gerard J. McHugh, Corporate Services Director NAI Global, did not respond to my emails or voice messages with questions regarding AE Polysilicon.