Kazakhstan’s Astana Solar nears order from Qatar

Jun 24, 2014 - Kazakhstan-based photovoltaics (PV) maker Astana Solar said Friday it had sealed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar Solar Energy (QSE) to deliver silicon, solar cells and wafers to the Qatari firm.

Astana Solar, a unit of state-owned company Kazatomprom, explained that the deal aims to enhance its collaboration with QSE which earlier this month unveiled plans to build a PV components factory near Doha with a total capacity to 2,500 MW. The two companies will hold talks in the near future to agree on the volume and timeframe for the deliveries.

As part of the deal, Astana Solar will supply the PV products together with its sister firms Kazakhstan Solar Silicon LLP and KazSilicon LLP under separate off-take agreements. The MoU was also signed by US-based solar project developer Clean Power Innovation, which will guarantee the quality of the supplied equipment. The firm is the owner of the silicon wafer purification technology used in the wafer production.

Kazakhstan Solar Silicon LLP and KazSilicon LLP, together with a French group led by the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission, are Astana Solar’s partners in the KazPav project. The scheme involves the construction of a 60-MW solar module production facility in Kazakhstan's capital city Astana, the annual capacity of which can reach 100 MW.

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