Qatar’s commitment to a low-carbon footprint and renewable energy production has been reflected on the 800MW-peak solar plant in Al Kharsaah, which was inaugurated by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on October 18.
The Al Kharsaah Solar PV Power Plant (KSPP) is owned by a joint venture between affiliates of QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions (60%), Marubeni (20.4%) and TotalEnergies (19.6%). QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions is QatarEnergy’s investment arm specialising in renewable and sustainable energy investments and projects.
QatarEnergy is consolidating its position in the renewables business and is delivering amid-term target of generating 5GW of solar power by 2035 as part of its Sustainability Strategy.
In addition to increasing solar capacity to over 5GW, the strategy targets reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and deploying carbon capture and storage technology to capture over 11mn tonnes per year of CO2 in Qatar by 2035.
It also aims to further reduce the carbon intensity of LNG facilities bolstering Qatar’s commitment to responsibly supply cleaner LNG at scale in support of the energy transition.
The multi-billion riyal plant was built on a 10sq km land area and can provide the national grid with about 10% of peak electricity demand.
KSPP includes more than 1,800,000 solar panels that utilise sun tracking technology to follow the movement of the sun to ensure the most efficient use of land and to maximise daily production.
It utilises robotic arms and treated water to clean the solar panels at night in order to enhance the plant’s production efficiency.
HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi highlighted some of the environmental efforts and sustainability requirements that were taken into account in building this landmark plant, saying, “The site of Al Kharsaah was chosen following extensive scientific studies to determine the sites with the best possible operational efficiency and maximum economic value, placing great consideration to the geological, environmental, and social impacts of establishing this station.”
Already, QatarEnergy has reserved land for future expansion of the 800MW-peak solar plant in Al Kharsaah.
“The area around Al Kharsaah has actually been reserved for expansion. We do have expansion capability. There is a lot of land around Al Kharsaah for possible expansion,” HE al-Kaabi told Gulf Times.
“We believe solar technology will actually become more efficient and cheaper with time. And may be the most important element for us is to try and reduce the size of the land that we need (for such projects). Qatar has scarcity of land… and we are a very small country. And you can see this (Al Kharsaah) is a giant project as far as the land is concerned. I think with time the requirement for land will shrink.”
Qatar’s flagship energy company is moving forward to help meet the growing global demand for cleaner energy, of which LNG is the backbone for a serious and realistic energy transition.
Already Qatar has committed big investments to lower the carbon intensity of the country’s energy products, which constitute a key pillar of QatarEnergy’s sustainability and energy transition strategy.
