State-owned power company QatarEnergy has inaugurated two solar projects with a combined capacity of 875MW, which more than double Qatar’s installed solar capacity.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the amir of Qatar, inaugurated the Ras Laffan and Mesaieed projects at the Ras Laffan industrial city in north-east Qatar. The city has played a crucial role in the country’s fossil fuel industries — it was established in 1996 to manage the extraction of gas from Qatar’s North Field, the world’s largest natural gas field with around one-tenth of the world’s gas reserves — so the advancement of a renewable power project in the area is a notable development.
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“The construction of solar power plants is one of Qatar’s most important initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, to develop sustainability projects and to diversify electricity generation sources,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs, who attended the inauguration.
The minister added that the two new projects would form a key part of Qatar’s solar strategy, alongside the Al Karsaah solar project, an 800MW facility commissioned in 2022 and partially owned by French fossil fuel major TotalEnergies. Al-Kaabi noted, however, that QatarEnergy was seeking to take a more direct role in the commissioning and maintenance of solar projects, rather than relying on the expertise of overseas companies.
“We have moved beyond relying on the expertise of others for the construction, operation, and maintenance of solar power plants, and have begun implementing such projects using our own national expertise,” said Al-Khaabi. “We are proud of them and their achievements.”
QatarEnergy has already announced plans to build a 2GW PV project in Dukhan, which it expects to commission by 2029. The company noted that the Al Karsaah, Ras Laffan and Mesaieed projects will meet around 15% of the country’s electricity demand, and all four solar projects will meet around 30% of national electricity demand.
