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Doha, Qatar - Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec), a member of Qatar Foundation, was awarded the Best GCC Integrated Solar Company Award in recognition for its advancement along the solar value chain by World Finance magazine, a highly prestigious bi-monthly publication that comprehensively covers and analyzes the global financial industry, international business arena and the world economy. Dr. Khalid Klefeekh Al Hajri, Chairman and CEO, QSTec, was invited to attend the award ceremony, which was held at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in London, United Kingdom.
"We would like to thank Qatar Foundation, SolarWorld, Qatar Development Bank, Centrotherm and our staff for the instrumental role they have played in all of our successes. This award serves as an affirmation that QSTec is realizing its vision to become a world leading integrated solar company through a strategy that has seen it expand from Doha right across the world," said Dr. Al Hajri. "The consortium between QSTec, SolarWorld and Centrotherm was developed to share knowledge, utilize each other's key strengths and improve costs and efficiencies. To win this award based on our strategic direction for advancement is very encouraging for QSTec and the region's solar industry."
In the post-award interviews held at the LSE, Dr. Al Hajri stated that the two greatest challenges for the renewable energy sector was the need to continually drive down costs to make renewables even more cost competitive with other forms of electricity production, and the need to make energy storage solutions more available, scalable and at a lower cost. However, Dr. Al Hajri emphasized that the solution involved stakeholders uniting, in the interest of development, to overcome the fragmentation prevalent in the renewable energy industry and join together to address these key issues. "Our consortium has come together to address these issues head on and we urge others in the industry to collaborate together so we can progress much faster," said Al Hajri.
Furthermore, Dr. Al Hajri explained that the success of QSTec in constructing the first of its kind polysilicon production facility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, coupled with QSTec strategic investments, will play a major role in shaping the MENA regions' solar industry. The facility will produce 8,000 metric tons of polysilicon and can expand along the value chain to produce over 45,000 tons of polysilicon a year. This development will enable the future production of 6.5 gigawatts of solar technologies each year.
World Finance has celebrated the successes of businesses, from a wide range of industries, in their yearly awards since 2007. Supported by a dedicated team of researchers in respective fields, judges, with over 230 collective years of financial and business journalism experience, determine winners amongst both smaller market participants, as well as larger firms, operating across the globe annually.
This is the second award won by QSTec in quick succession who, just a few weeks ago, picked up a Ta'atheer Award for Best CSR Integrated Business for its Shams Generation solar learning initiative.
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About Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec)
Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) is enabling Qatar reach a sustainable future by manufacturing and supplying solar energy solutions that are used locally and exported globally. QSTec, a world leading integrated solar company, is a joint venture formed between Qatar Solar (a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development), SolarWorld AG and Qatar Development Bank, that is built on a philosophy of quality, operational excellence and commercial integrity.
QSTec is currently building an 8,000 metric ton per annum polysilicon facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar in addition to being the largest private equity holder in the global solar company SolarWorld AG and owning 50% of the solar and semi-conductor manufacturing technology company, Centrotherm AG. The plant is spread on a site of 1.2 million square metres and covers an area of half a million square metres. The facility will run two polysilicon trains with a capacity to produce 8,000 metric tons per year of pure polysilicon - the key ingredient used in 90% of the world's solar modules. Built on an area of 500,000 square metres, the plant is set to be the largest solar facility in the region - with a pipe network of 200 kilometres and an electrical cable above 3,000 kilometres. Construction utilised is 15,000 metric tons of steel and 100,000 cubic metres of concrete.
QSTec and its partners are the key solar technology suppliers for some of Qatar's most iconic buildings and offer turnkey solar energy solutions for any sized project in addition to offering high quality Polysilicon and manufacturing technologies to customers around the world.
For more information visit QSTec.com.
For more information please contact:
Craig Field
Corporate Communications Specialist
Qatar Solar Technologies
Email: cfield@qstec.com
Phone: +974 4020 2358
www.qstec.com
© Press Release 2016
