QATAR – Al-Kharsaah Power Plant – the country’s first desert solar project west of the capital Doha begins operations.
The project costs about 467 million USD, includes 1.8 million solar panels covering an area of more than 10 square kilometers, inaugurated on October 18. This is “one of the largest solar power farms in the Middle East”, emphasized Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, Chairman of QatarEnergy Group and Minister of Energy of Qatar.
The plant has an initial capacity of 800 megawatts and will expand further in the coming years. The project is part of Qatar’s “strategic initiatives” to reduce emissions and temperatures. It was built in 2016 in cooperation with TotalEnergies (France) and Marubeni (Japan).
During the day, sun direction technology automatically adjusts the solar panels to ensure maximum light is received, while at night, robotic arms clean dust from the surface.
Organizers of the 2022 World Cup, which kicks off on November 20, have used the Al-Kharsaah project to support claims that Qatar will host the first net-zero carbon-emitting World Cup, where emissions are the most effective. Greenhouse emissions are offset by clean energy.
Despite lagging behind other Gulf states in the renewable electricity race, Qatar has announced a target of 5 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2035.
Besides Al-Kharsaah, the country also unveiled two other large-scale solar projects in August, aiming to double electricity output from renewable sources in the next two years.
Neighboring Saudi Arabia has also announced a target of 5 gigawatts of solar capacity, but pledged to achieve it by 2030. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates already has photovoltaic plants in the country. more than a decade.
Source: VnExpress
