File photo used for representation only.
Doha: Qatar’s first utility-scale solar power plant, the 800 MW Al Kharsaah Solar PV IPP Project will be inaugurated in a few weeks in the presence of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, officials said yesterday.
Addressing a press conference, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, said the Amir will take part in the opening of the power station, which is part of Qatar’s efforts to provide clean, renewable, and sustainable energy.
Chairman of the Board and CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, who will also attend the launch event, reiterated the significance of ‘green electricity’.
The Al Kharsaah Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Indpendent Power Producer (IPP) Project is owned and operated by Siraj 1 SPV, a consortium jointly owned by TotalEnergies and Marubeni (40 percent) and Siraj Energy (60 percent), the latter being a joint venture between QatarEnergy and Qatar Electricity & Water Co. (QEWC).
Located just 80km west of Doha, the plant was expected to become the world’s largest solar power plant equipped with high-efficiency, half-cut bifacial solar modules covering 10 square kilometres, the equivalent of about 1,400 soccer fields. It will feature 2 million modules mounted on trackers, according to TotalEnergies.
During its first year of operation, the plant is expected to generate almost 2,000,000 MWh, the equivalent energy consumption of approximately 55,000 Qatari households. The plant which has an estimated investment of QR1.7bn was first announced in 2020 as part of Qatar’s commitment to host a carbon neutral World Cup, and is expected to reduce 26 million tonnes of CO2 during its lifetime.
