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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 announced on the website of the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 18) that it’ll start production of solar cells in 2013. A Speaker of Qatar Solar Technologies said an investment of one billion US-Dollar will be necessary. The contract with Investment-Bank Masraf Al Rayan to finance this project was signed on May 29, 2012. Within the next few years, the country will receive 20% of its energy from photovoltaic to reach the goal of a low carbon future. The conference opened in Qatar’s capital in Doha on November 26, 2012.
International newspapers have been criticizing that this year the United Nations Climate Change Conference is taking place only in the country with the highest carbon dioxide emissions. 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% of export earnings and 70% of government revenues in Qatar. Qatar’s proved reserves of natural gas are nearly 26 trillion cubic metres, about 14% of the world total and the third largest in the world.
Experts of Qatar Solar Technologies have calculated that production cost of solar cells will amortisize energetically 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 crystallize 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
- “The definition of irony: Qatar, the world’s highest carbon footprint country is hosting climate change talks” — India Today, December 4, 2012
- “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)
- Fiona Harvey. “Doha: a strange place to host a climate-change conference” — The Guardian, November 28, 2012
- QSTec. “Qatar Solar Technologies to meet Qatar’s 2014 Solar Energy Target” — press release, October 21, 2012
- December 3, 2012
