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Monday, December 3, 2012
The desert in Qatar – enough sand and material to produce silicon
Image: w:User:Diliff, Wikipedia.
Solar cells produce electricity directly from sunlight
Image: w:United States Department of Energy.
On December 1 the government of Qatar anounced that it will start production of solar cells in 2013. It is said that an investment of one billion US-Dollar will be necessary. The contract to finance this project was already signed May 29, 2012. Within the next few years the country will receive 20 per cent of its energy from photovoltaic to reach the goal of a low carbon future.
International newspapers have been criticizing that the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 18) is taking place just in the country with the highest carbon dioxide emissions. This conference opened in Qatar’s capital in Doha on November 26, 2012. For two decades Qatar has had the highest per-capita carbon dioxide emissions in the world, at 49.1 metric tons per person in 2008. This was about 60 per cent more than one of the next highest per-capita emitting country, which was Kuwait at 30.7 metric tons, and more than double of the emissions of people in the United States. Qatar’s carbon dioxide emissions have raised up to 55.4 tons per person in the meantime.
Oil and gas still account for 85 per cent of export earnings and 70 per cent of government revenues in Qatar. Qatar’s proved reserves of natural gas are nearly 26 trillion cubic metres, about 14 per cent of the world total and the third largest in the world.
A Speaker of Qatar Solar Technologies said that production cost of solar cells will amortisize within one year because of the solar radiation in the Middle East. They prefer polycrystalline silicon which is made from cast square ingots — large blocks of molten silicon carefully cooled and solidified. The time to cristallize is shorter and may include used cells during the process so that polycrystalline cells are less expensive to produce. Silicon is most widely distributed in sands as the most common various form of silicon dioxide (silica). Over 90% of the Earth’s crust is composed of silicate minerals.
Sources
- “Sun shines bright on Qatar’s low carbon future” — press release, December 1, 2012
- “Sheikha Moza pushes ‘start’ button on Qatar’s solar future” — press release, December 1, 2012
- fmrauch. “Katar setzt ein Zeichen: Produktion von Solarzellen soll 2013 beginnen” — wikinews, December 1, 2012 (German)
- QSTec. “Qatar Solar Technologies to meet Qatar’s 2014 Solar Energy Target” — press release, October 21, 2012
- “The definition of irony: Qatar, the world’s highest carbon footprint country is hosting climate change talks” — India Today, December 4, 2012
- Fiona Harvey. “Doha: a strange place to host a climate-change conference” — The Guardian, November 28, 2012
- December 3, 2012
