Total and Marubeni won the solar project through a competitive tender process. Kahramaa received five competitive bids for project development. Total, Siraj Energy and Marubeni formed a special purpose compa. The solar power plant was developed in the Al-Kharsaah area on a 10km² of land, located 80km west of Doha, Qatar. The plant uses 1.8 million bifacial solar modules with trackers, whi. In January 2020, Kahramaa signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Siraj 1 to procure electricity from the power plant. Kahramaa is Qatar's transmission and distribution syste. Kahramaa hired consulting firm EY as lead and financial advisor. DLA Piper served as legal advisor while Poyry Switzerland, a consulting and engineering company, provided technic. Marubeni is strategically shifting from coal-fired power generation to the renewable energy generation business. In September 2018, the company pledged not to develop new coal-fired po.
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Does Qatar have a solar power plant?
Qatar's Al Kharsaah solar power plant is Marubeni's third large-scale solar project in the region, following the company's first two large-scale solar projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. What does the Al Kharsaah solar power plant mean for Qatar?
Where is the first large scale photovoltaic plant in Qatar?
Located 80 km West of Doha, the Al Kharsaah plant is the first large scale photovoltaic plant in Qatar with 800 MWp installed solar capacity. The plant was constructed on a 1000-hectare terrain, equivalent to approximately 1400 football pitches, and integrates 2 million high-efficiency bifacial modules mounted on single-axis trackers.
What's happening at Al Kharsaah solar power plant in Qatar?
The Al Kharsaah solar power plant in Qatar has been constructed, started up, and connected to the country's national grid.
What is Qatar's first large-scale solar power generation project?
This Marubeni investment-backed plant, which was inaugurated on October 18, is the first large-scale solar power generation project in Qatar, with a maximum output of 800 MW. The power generated will be sold to Qatar's General Electricity & Water Corporation Kahramaa under a long-term contract of 25 years.
The power plant can supply 10% of the country's peak energy consumption and help to avoid 26 million tonnes of carbon emissions over its operational life. It also reduces the reliance on gas for power generation, diversifying Qatar's power sources. Total and Marubeni won the solar project through a competitive tender process.
How to develop solar power in Qatar?
Currently, efforts have focused on developing solar capacity in the country through research centers, universities, utilities and pilot projects, and a number of institutions including Kahramaa, Qatar Foundation, QNFSP and QSTP are actively working on this front.