Hoku Scientific Inc. said losses widened during the October-to-December quarter as Hawai'i's economic downturn took its toll on photovoltaic system installations.

The Honolulu-based clean-energy technology company reported its net loss widened to $863,000, or 4 cents a share. That compared with a year-earlier quarterly loss of $538,000, or 3 cents a share.

Hoku has been building up its photovoltaic system installation business as it constructs a polysilicon plant in Idaho. The company has been affected by a decline in the U.S. and Hawai'i economies, which have lowered demand for system installations while causing problems in financing its $390 million Idaho plant.

"Like many companies, we have been affected by the adverse microeconomic conditions over the past quarter," Dustin Shindo, Hoku chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a press statement.

"However, we have been able to mitigate the long-term impacts through careful planning and conservative cash management."