Qatar Solar Energy (QSE) says that a "landmark" deal with Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom will help it to expand its solar module production capacity.
Under the agreement, Kazatomprom will supply QSE with solar-grade silicon - the raw material used to make solar panels - at a fixed cost for ten years.
The deal is significant because rising demand for solar energy products is driving rapid growth in demand for raw polysilicon. "The steady supply of quality raw material is crusial to Qatar Solar Energy's mission to deliver on the promise of low cost and affordable renewable energy for populations across the world," said Salim Abbassi, CEO of QSE.
QSE will use the silicon supplied by Kazatomprom - which has been active in the solar sector since 2009 - to manufacture solar energy products. The deal will support its plans to expand output capacity to 2.5 GW, making Qatar one of the world's largest producers of solar power in the world.
"This partnership allows QSE to secure the entire value chain from raw material to smart-grid development and provides a powerful foundation from which QSE will further expand its production capacity to 2.5 GW," said Abbassi.
QSE and Kazatomprom have also agreed to deepen their collaboration in the form of knowledge-sharing and training to drive the solar industry forward. In September 2014, a delegation of Kazatomprom engineers will travel to QSE headquarters in Qatar to initiate the knowledge-sharing engagement.
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