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Oman is gearing up to produce polysilicon: Australia’s renewable energy developer United Solar Group has begun construction on a USD 1.3 bn polysilicon — a key material in solar panel manufacturing — production facility in Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone, Oman Observer reports.
The details: The plant will have an expected production capacity of 100k tons per year earmarked for export, according to the Muscat Daily. Operations are expected to begin in 2025.
China is supplying the materials: Solar material manufacturer Shuangliang Eco-Energy, a subsidiary of China’s Shuangliang Group will be supplying polycrystalline silicon reduction furnaces, hydrogen production equipment, and refrigeration units for the facility in Oman, Muscat Daily writes. The equipment is valued at USD 58.32 mn.
Oman is not the first: Egypt first completed feasibility studies for a solar-powered silicone production complex in New Alamein back in May. The project — spanning 200 feddans on Egypt’s North Coast — aims to produce locally-manufactured silicone and derivatives rather than rely on imports. Saudi Arabia is the top contender to house the first international polysilicon factory for China-based GCL Technology — the world’s second-largest manufacturer of polysilicon. Chinese giant solar panel maker Trina Solar signed an MoU with the UAE’s AD Ports and China-based investment firm Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Cooperation and Investment to build a large-scale PV manufacturing base in the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi last October.
