Hoku Scientific Inc. has obtained another contract for its polysilicon plant under construction in Idaho, bringing it closer to obtaining all the financing needed to build the plant. The company also announced it hopes to expand the plant's capacity.

The company said Tianwei New Energy (Chendgu) Wafer Co. had agreed to enter a second contract for polysilicon and to make $22 million of deposits with Kapolei-based Hoku this year. The new contract calls for Tianwei to pay Hoku up to $227 million over a 10-year period.

Tianwei earlier this year had agreed to a contract with Hoku. It brings Tiawei's total orders with Hoku to about $511 million.

Hoku said it now has $353 million in prepayment commitments toward the plant and that this was enough to keep the procurement and construction of the plant on track through the first quarter of next year. It said it is evaluating market conditions to determine when to raise additional project funds through either a debt or equity offering.

Hoku said the company also has begun looking to expand the plants production capacity from 3,500 metric tons annually to 4,000 metric tons. It also is looking at how much the capacity cost would increase building costs.

Hoku is building the facility to take advantage of the surging market for polysilicon, a material used in the cells of photovoltaic panels and in computer chips.