Qatar will use the roofs of water reservoirs for solar energy generation Ahmed Nasser al-Nasser, technical affairs director of Kahramaa, Qatar’s general glectricity and water corporation, told the Solar Qatar Summit on Monday.
“We aim to optimise the utilisation of redundant flat surfaces in the infrastructure, such as the roofs of grid stations and water reservoirs, to generate a capacity of up to 200MW by 2020 from solar sources,” al-Nasser said.
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Kahramaa is looking to utilise PV solar and other types of solar energy such as thermal and CSP.
The rooftop initiative follows the Qatar government announcing an installation target of 200MW of PV in October. The Ministry of Energy and Industry has said the target is beginning its first phases with a pilot project of 5-10MW for water desalination in Duhail.
The developments in solar energy in Qatar are part of the Qatar National Food Security Programme, established in 2008 for Qatar to be self sufficient in food production, requiring sustainable domestic energy to support desalination. The solar announcements are also in line with Qatar’s ‘Green Qatar 2022’ plan for hosting the FIFA world cup in 2022, and part of the Qatar National Vision 2030, also set up in 2008.
Increasing renewable energy capacity will “contribute to a carbon-neutral FIFA 2022 event,” said al-Nasser.
“The country will put to good use a variety of clean energy sources and a carbon reduction programme, which will enable sustainable and environment-friendly operations in agriculture,” al-Nasser said.
“Solar is recognised as Qatar’s primary renewable energy technology, and will be a significant part of Qatar’s sustainable energy future,” said Abdul Rahman bin Khalifa Al Thani, minister for municipality and urban planning, for the state of Qatar, in welcoming statement for the solar summit.
Also this month Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) partnered with Qatar Electricity and Water Corporation (QWEC) to research solar energy possibilities in Qatar, signing an MoU as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Fahad Hamad al-Mohannadi, QEWC general manager said: “The interest in alternative energy sources and solar energy in Qatar is present and growing. The development and advancement of solar cell technology and the related industry should be the corner stone for the future strategy on alternative energy resources.”
In 2012, Qatar was seeking tenders for 1.8GW, requiring US$10-20 billion in investment.