[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 101 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30485-30486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10500]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Antitrust Division


Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and 
Production Act of 1993--New Routes to Ultra-Low-Cost Solar Grade 
Silicon for Renewable Energy Generation

    Notice is hereby given that, on March 14, 2005, pursuant to Section 
6(a) of the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, 
15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (``the Act''), New Routes to Ultra-Low-Cost 
Solar Grade Silicon for Renewable Energy Generation (the ``Joint 
Venture'') has filed written notifications simultaneously with the 
Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission disclosing (1) the 
identities of the parties to the venture and (2) the nature and 
objectives of the venture. The notifications were filed for the purpose 
of invoking the Act's provisions limiting the recovery of antitrust 
plaintiffs to actual damages under specified circumstances.

[[Page 30486]]

    Pursuant to Section 6(a) of the Act, the identities of the parties 
to the Joint Venture are: Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, MI; GE 
Energy USA LLC, Newark, DE; and Crystal Systems, Inc., Salem, MA. The 
general area of the Joint Venture's planned activity is to provide a 
virtually unlimited commercial supply of solar-grade silicon at 
unprecedented low prices in a time frame of three years. This new 
source of silicon will serve as a feedstock for the large-scale 
manufacture of photovoltaic solar cells. The goal is to deliver silicon 
supply for the PV industry with a substantial cost reduction versus 
semiconductor-grade silicon by utilizing metallurgical processes that 
will purify the cheap raw silicon presently made for the steel, 
aluminum, and silicone polymer industries. The activities of the Joint 
Venture project will be partially funded by an award from the Advanced 
Technology Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
U.S. Department of Commerce.

Dorothy B. Fountain,
Deputy Director of Operations, Antitrust Division.
[FR Doc. 05-10500 Filed 5-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-11-M