Hoku Corp., a Honolulu-based solar energy company, said CEO Scott Paul will resign on June 30 and the company is looking for a buyer of its Hoku Solar subsidiary.

"Jeremy" Xiaoming Yin, the company’s president since early 2011, will take over as CEO, the company said in a news release Friday. Paul will continue as chairman of a new five-member committee to oversee and direct the company’s efforts to restructure its liabilities.

Last month Hoku said it would lay off 100 workers. Hoku had 129 employees at the end of March 2011.

The company also said last month it would halt construction on a plant in Idaho that was to produce the main component used in photovoltaic solar panels. The $700 million polysilicon plant that Hoku was building in Pocatello was behind schedule.

Hoku, which has posted financial losses in 20 out of the past 21 quarters, also said last month it has hired Los Angeles-based Imperial Capital LLC, an investment bank, to restructure $278 million in debt the company has racked up since breaking ground on the polysilicon plant in 2007. The plant is being built by Hoku Materials, a subsidiary of Hoku Corp.

Prices for polysilicon have fallen sharply in recent years because of an oversupply in the global market. The spot price for polysilicon fell to $22.82 per kilogram earlier this month from a peak of $475 a kilogram four years ago, according to Bloomberg News Service.

Hoku, a one-time success story for Hawaii’s technology sector, was forced to sell a majority stake to a Chinese firm in September 2009. The company, Tianwei New Energy Holdings Co., injected fresh capital into Hoku and helped line up more than $300 million in loans from Chinese banks for construction of the Idaho plant.

Paul said in Friday’s news release: "One purpose of the restructuring committee is to ensure independent oversight of the restructuring process. In order to dedicate the proper focus and attention to this responsibility, I have decided to step down as CEO. I have the utmost confidence in Jeremy’s ability to lead Hoku."

Hoku Solar is a wholly owned subsidiary that markets and installs photovoltaic systems and provides related services in Hawaii.

"While we explore this opportunity, Hoku Solar will continue normal operations as a provider of investment-grade PV in Hawaii," Paul said. "Under the continuing leadership of Jerrod Schreck, Hoku Solar remains focused on developing and delivering value-engineered, top-performing solar energy facilities for its commercial, institutional and utility clients. Hoku Solar is actively building several of the largest utility-scale photovoltaic projects in the state of Hawaii, and we believe there is substantial value that could be realized for the benefit of Hoku Corporation’s stakeholders."

Hoku Solar is the sole source of revenue generation for its parent company.

Hoku Solar reported a 500 percent increase in revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011, compared with the same three-month period a year earlier. Hoku Solar’s portfolio includes some of Hawaii’s largest utility-scale photovoltaic projects to date, including a 7-megawatt solar power facility planned for Kauai.

Hoku’s shares closed Friday at 15.71 cents, up 0.41 cent for the day. It reached a 52-week low of 7.39 cents on May 29.