Rusnano shuts down its Nitol poly-Si project in Siberia

Rusnano, Russia?s largest nanotech company, has scrapped its loss-making Nitol poly-Si project in the Irkutsk region in Siberia and is launching a new solar effort in its stead

Rusnano, Russia?s largest nanotech company, has shut down Nitol, its poly-Si production project in the Irkutsk region in Siberia which has brought multibillion ruble loss, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported. According to Anatoly Chubais, the president of Rusnano, Rusnano?s decision to close the Nitol project in the town of Usolye Sibirskoye has been backed by the Russian Government. However, Rusnano will continue to tap into renewable energy technologies and is expected to launch a new project in Usolye to manufacture components for solar generation equipment. This will be a focus on much deeper processing rather than just making raw material which Nitol did, Mr. Chubais said. The decision to start a new endeavor stems from the Russian Government?s recently adopted seven-year strategy aimed at supporting renewable energy in this country. The $230m effort is expected to have an IRR of 31%, Rusnano reckons...