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Quartz sand export ban seen to push domestic solar panel manufacturing
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s plan to ban quartz sand or silica sand exports could jump-start rooftop solar panel manufacturing in Indonesia, business representatives say.
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Workers check solar panels at Tirtonadi Terminal in Surakarta, Central Java, for a Transportation Ministry project capable of producing 500,000 watts of electricity to power operations of the terminal, in this undated photo. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
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n impending ban on quartz sand or silica sand exports could jump-start rooftop solar panel manufacturing in Indonesia, industry observers believe.
Given Indonesia’s abundant resources with 25 billion tonnes of silica sand reserves and 331 million tonnes of ready-to-process silica sand, the government hopes a ban will prompt a rush into the production of silica-based products, including glass, ceramics and other building materials.
Silica is the primary constituent of most types of glass. The main form in which silica is found in nature is the mineral quartz, a hard, transparent crystalline material making up a substantial fraction of Earth’s crust.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced a plan to bar the shipments so as to derive more value from processing the commodity. Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who recently returned from China with a US$11.5 billion investment commitment from Chinese glass producer Xinyi Group, responded positively to the idea.
Indonesian Solar Energy Association (AESI) executive director Fabby Tumiwa said the ban could have a positive impact on the development of solar cell and solar module industries, as it would guarantee the availability of raw materials, including silicon dioxide, a raw material for both products.
Indonesia does not yet have domestic solar cell suppliers, Fabby explained.
“Solar module businesses import solar cells from [abroad], be it Taiwan, China or India. Then, the cells are assembled into solar modules. We don't have [any domestic solar cell manufacturing facility] yet,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, explaining that the silicon in solar cells was refined to reach metallurgical grade.
