peakoil.com/alternative-energy/...e-critical-solar-energy-hubs
May 4, 2014
Why Ukraine & Qatar Are Critical Solar Energy Hubs
Solar may be a small portion of energy production globally but the importance in geo-politics continues to grow. All energy usage may be local, when a homeowner plugs in their cell phone charge into the wall but when it comes to energy production, it is anything but local. Looking at the recent trouble in Eastern Europe between the Ukraine and Russia, it is very apparent that energy plays a central role in the conflict.
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The SolarWorld connection
The lead plaintiff in global solar tariff complaints is SolarWorld, the solar manufacturer listed on the German stock exchange. While listed in Germany, Solarworld is actually owned 30% by Qatar Solar, which is majority owned by the Qatari Foundation. In addition, Qatar Solar is building a polysilicon production facility. Once operational, the Qatar poly factory will supply all of the SolarWorld needs according to SolarWorld officials.
The success of the Qatar poly factory is most likely based on the demand of SolarWorld across the globe and therefore the tariffs/minimum prices set by the trade complaints against Chinese manufactured products in the EU and US.
Closing the loop from Ukraine and Qatar to Berlin and Washington D.C.
Natural gas continues to play a central role in solar from price comparisons to energy dependency. For EU Countries, reliance on foreign natural gas has been mitigated with enormous investments in local solar and wind generation. The self-production hedge has allowed Western Europe to be a stronger political power with less reliance on others for fuel supply. Less reliance does not mean ‘no reliance’ and that is why Qatar remains an important part of global natural gas politics.
It is the investment by Qatar which saved SolarWorld the first time and helped them get out of bankruptcy earlier this year. The role that Qatar plays in the solar trade complaints is yet to be determined but saying SolarWorld is a German owned US solar manufacturer is an oversimplification of a very complicated global political situation where solar is a central component.