REC Silicon Butte
Large load · 119140 RICK JONES WAY, Butte, MT
REC Silicon’s Butte, Montana plant is a silicon gases and polysilicon site in the Montana Connection industrial park south of Butte. Operated through REC Advanced Silicon Materials LLC, a subsidiary of the Norway-based REC Silicon, the site has been an industrial electric load since the 1990s. Its recent history is a shift away from electronic-grade polysilicon, which the company ended citing electricity prices, toward silane-based silicon gases, with layoffs following the transition.
Overview
In February 2024 REC Silicon said its US subsidiary would discontinue polysilicon production at Butte, citing high electricity costs and a regional imbalance in supply and demand for power. The company said it would keep producing silicon gases at the site for the growing solar PV market, and that ending polysilicon would significantly reduce annual energy consumption and operating costs. REC said its own hedging and production optimization were not expected to restore profitability for the polysilicon line, and the plant was to finish existing orders over six to nine months before workforce reductions.
Profile
- Grid supply and energy purchasing
- NorthWestern Energy delivers power to the Butte plant but does not sell it, so the plant buys its energy on the open market. Butte’s chief executive said the company buys from multiple suppliers and looks for the best available price, and that prices had been extremely high and volatile. About 235 people worked at the Butte plant when the polysilicon shutdown was announced. NorthWestern Energy called the decision a blow to the state economy, and the plant’s energy cost position has been the central issue in the restructuring.
- Silane focus and later layoffs
- NBC Montana describes REC’s Butte operation as one of the leading producers of silane-based materials in the world, and REC has said it will focus fully on Butte’s silicon gases business. In November 2025 the company told NBC Montana it would make a small layoff in early December, affecting about 10 percent of the workforce, citing very difficult market and financial conditions. The Butte plant has been operating the Montana Connection industrial park since 1996, and local leaders have said they hope silicon gas production expands and keeps workers in place.
Facility
- Activity
- Silicon gases (silane)
- Industry
- Manufacturing
- Site type
- Facility
- Operating status
- Operating
Related records
Timeline
- Feb 10, 2024
- REC Silicon says it will shut down polysilicon production at Butte because of electricity costs
REC Silicon Shutting Down Butte Manufacturing Fab
- Nov 7, 2025
- REC Silicon confirms a layoff of about 10 percent of the Butte workforce in early December
REC Silicon announces upcoming layoffs at Butte plant in December