Qatar has signed an agreement with Total and Marubeni to build a solar power project, the local media reported. Qatar’s solar power project will be located near Doha with a capacity of approximately 800 megawatts.
The cost of the project is about $467 million. Qatar’s Siraj Energy will hold a 60 percent stake in the proposed project, while the remaining 40 percent will be held by Marubeni and Total. Siraj Energy is a joint venture owned by Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC).
The project is driven by Qatar’s aim to accelerate the use of renewables in the country. Qatar plans to increase renewable energy production for exports and to reduce its carbon footprint.
The first phase of the project will have 350 megawatts connected to the grid by the first quarter of 2021. However, its full capacity production is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2022.
Saad Al Kaabi, minister of state for energy affairs and the CEO of Qatar Petroleum, told the media that, “This plant is the first of its kind in the state of Qatar with a total capacity of 800 MW which equals about 10% of Qatar’s current peak electricity demand.”
Qatar’s solar power project in partnership with Total and Marubeni will diversify its non-oil economy for the years to come. Qatar is the world’s largest supplier of LNG — and it seeks to reduce carbon emissions through solar projects in the country.
Last October, a carbon capture and storage plant was commissioned to eventually sequester five million tonnes of carbon from its LNG plants by 2020, the local media reported.