Xinyi to Pump US$3 Bln into Silica Sand Project in Indonesia

China-based solar panel producer Xinyi Solar Energy plans to invest US$3 billion to secure silica sand supplies in Bangka Belitung. Director General of Mineral and Coal Ridwan Djamaluddin said Xinyi had conducted a field survey and planned to hold a meeting with the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry on Feb 6. "The investment plan is US$3 billion, but there is no written proposal yet," he said on Tuesday. Silica sand is a raw material used in solar panel production. Ridwan believes that the government can strike gold by optimizing the development of silica or quartz sand, repeating the success of nickel management. "This is a big asset. In short, the next nickel is silica sand. The [investment] direction is towards making solar panels. It can certainly be seen as one of Indonesia's contributions to the energy transition," he said.

Xinyi is one of the world's major manufacturers of renewable energy devices. The company controls 40 percent of the global market share of solar panels. "For example, they managed to build a solar panel factory in 18 months in Malaysia, and its products have already been exported," he said.