Entrepreneur Dustin Shindo, who co-founded Hoku Scientific Inc. nine years ago and took it public in August 2005, is stepping down from the top post at the Honolulu-based alternate energy company just as it is on the verge of making its first deliveries from the polysilicon plant it is building in Pocatello, Idaho.

Shindo, 36, who has been traveling more than 10,000 miles a week, said he wants to spend more time with his wife and their two children, ages 1 and 3. Shindo will give up his chairman, president and chief executive officer titles at the end of the company's fiscal year March 31 but will remain involved with Hoku as a senior adviser, a role that has yet to be defined.

“;Family is a big part of it,”; he said. “;I certainly have a lot more fire. I have a lot of other things I'd like to do in my career. Right now my most important focus is on family and health before moving on.”;

He also said he wanted to transition management to the next generation of Hoku's leadership.

Shindo will be replaced on April 1 by Chief Operating Officer Scott Paul, also 36, who has been with the company since July 2003.

“;I'm humbled by it, and I'm also thrilled as we look ahead to the goals that we've set for ourselves this year of increasing our PV (photovoltaic) system installation business here in Hawaii and beginning the production of polysilicon in Idaho,”; Paul said.

Paul said the company is on track to begin shipments of polysilicon—the raw material used to make solar panels—in the first half of this year. Hoku, which announced the change before the stock market opened today, has sold $1.8 billion of future polysilicon output and said it would be able to begin delivery before the first phase of the 2,500-metric-ton plant is completed. Ultimately, the $390 million plant will have a capacity of 4,000 metric tons.

Shindo and Paul stressed that Shindo was not being forced out with the 60 percent investment in the company last September by one of its customers, Tianwei New Energy Co. Ltd. of China. With Hoku running out of financial options to keep plant construction moving forward, Tianwei agreed to take over majority ownership and provide $50 million in debt financing.

“;We were running out of time, and our vendors were running out of patience and we didn't have another option when we signed and ultimately closed the Tianwei deal,”; Paul said. “;If we had not gotten that deal, we may have had to pursue a Chapter 7 scenario, but Tianwei came in and provided the funding and we're paying off our vendors and moving forward.”;

As part of that deal, Tianwei also was given the right to occupy a majority of Hoku's expanded seven-member board as well as appoint the chairman. However, Tianwei allowed Shindo to remain as chairman after the transaction.

But with Shindo now stepping down, Wei Xia, vice general manager of Baoding Tianwei Group, will assume the role of chairman on April 1. Paul has been nominated for one of the board seats to replace Shindo.

In another move, Jerrod Schreck was promoted to chief strategy officer from vice president of business development.

“;The board of directors was hopeful that Mr. Shindo would continue as CEO for a longer period of time,”; Xia said. “;However, we understand Mr. Shindo's reasons for stepping down, and we are extremely confident in Mr. Paul's ability to lead Hoku.”;

Hoku, which began as a developer of fuel cell technology, switched its focus to polysilicon production and solar installation in May 2006 when it became apparent that its fuel cell technology was still far away from producing meaningful revenue. He founded the company in 2001 with Karl Taft, who remains chief technology officer.

Shindo said he doesn't feel like he'll be missing out on anything by giving up his top post just as the polysilicon plant is about to come to fruition.

“;In a good company the story's never done,”; he said. “;There's always the next thing. As CEO for (nearly) 10 years, I've been very happy to see the company grow into something special. Also, keep in mind that I'm not entirely disappearing.”;

Shindo said he doesn't want people to think that he's burned out.

“;I'm still excited about business,”; he said. “;I'm only 36 years old. There are some other things I'd like to do in my life. I just don't know what those are yet.”;