Doha, October 18 (QNA) - The State of Qatar announced pumping QR 2.3 billion into solar power plants in Mesaieed and Ras Laffan industrial cities during this year, doubling the value of its total solar energy projects from QR1.7 billion to about QR 4 billion in a bid to boost its solar energy investments.
This reflects government policies and plans to diversify energy sources, by encouraging investment in renewable energy, given the climatic data and Qatar's financial and technical potentials.
HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs Eng. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi affirmed, in a statement, that the Mesaieed and Ras Laffan plants are a major step to enhance reliance on highly efficient renewable energy.
Founder and Chairman of the Friends of Environment Center (FEC) Dr. Saif Ali Al Hajari told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that Qatar's decision to increase electricity production from solar energy came at the right time as the increasing demand for energy from various sources reached its peak.
The urgent need for energy made Qatar play regional and international roles to solve the issue of global demand, prompting the diversification of its sources and the increase of its production capacities from alternative energy through the establishment of an 800-MWp huge solar power plant in Al Kharsaah.
The project will account for about 10 percent of the country's production capacity, Dr. Al Hajari said.
The Al Kharsaah solar plant, inaugurated today, will cover nearly 10 percent of Qatar's electricity needs, while the cost of the 10 km square plant, is about QR 1.7 billion.
The project comes as part of the country's efforts to preserve energy and the environment, ensuring a balance between benefits of the current and future generations in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.
It also reflects Qatar's policies to diversify energy production sources and increasingly rely on renewable energy as well as its commitments pertaining to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The project was presented in a competitive manner to international companies to provide the best technology for generating electricity from solar energy. The cost of electricity from solar energy is competitive compared to that generated from fossil fuel.
Al Hajri stressed that Qatar is continuing to raise its capabilities of alternative energy by announcing two huge projects in this field in Mesaieed and Ras Laffan , adding that this trend copes with Qatar's commitments seeking to bring carbon footprint to zero by 2050.
In this context, he stressed the need to take into account the challenges facing this industry in Qatar, especially amid the extremely high temperatures, levels of humidity and dust that affect the carbon emissions.
In Qatar, there is awareness of the need to shift to alternative energy in a number of projects, such as the Lusail and Msheireb projects, Dr. Al Hajri said, adding that Qatari nationals tend to establish individual solar energy plants in the agricultural, industrial and household sectors.
Expected to start production by the end of 2024, the two plants in Mesaieed and Ras Laffan will contribute to increasing the country's renewable energy generation capacity to 1.67 GW by the end of 2024.
South Korea's Samsung C&T Corporation will implement the project with a total investment of QR 2.3 billion (USD 600 million).
(QNA)