DOHA: With the focus now shifting to solar energy, Qatar is gearing up to produce polysilicon, a basic component of solar panel cells.
The first plant in Qatar for refining polysilicon is to open in Las Laffan next year.
This facility will lay the foundation for Qatar’s plans to set up a complete solar panel production capability. The plant, a venture that is 70 percent owned by Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec), a subsidiary of the Qatar Foundation, will produce 8,000 metric tonnes of polysilicon every year.
To make solar panels, polysilicon is melted into an ingot, then sliced into micro-thin wafers, and finally assembled into cells.
