Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec), the first polysilicon production facility in the Middle East, will build a polysilicon plant worth US$1 billion in Ras Laffan Industrial City in north-east Qatar.
QSTec?s Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract was awarded to the Punj Lloyd Group, a leading EPC conglomerate headquartered in Gurgaon, India.
The contract to deliver technology and equipment had been awarded to leading German solar company centrotherm photovoltaics AG in March 2010.
QSTec?s plant will manufacture 8,000 MTPY (metric tonnes per year) of high-purity solar grade polysilicon and is scheduled to commence operations in the second half of 2013.
The site, chosen with future expansion in mind, is located on 1.2 million sqm of land in the heart of Qatar?s LNG (liquefied natural gas) refineries and exports.
QSTec aims to leverage the country?s natural resources and advanced research facilities to manufacture and develop solar technologies locally.
Dr Khalid K. Al Hajri, board member and CEO of QSTec, said: ?By utilizing Qatar?s resources today to make polysilicon, which in turn creates a variety of solar energy technologies and products, we are helping the global transformation towards a more diversified mix of clean energy solutions.?
Launched in 2010, QSTec is a joint venture company formed between Qatar Solar (a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development), SolarWorld AG and Qatar Development Bank.
