Kahramaa to Call Bids for First Large-scale
Solar Power Plant in Qatar
October 07, 2018
Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) will
issue a public tender before year end for the construction of
its first large-scale photovoltaic solar power plant.
Engineer Essa Hilal Al-Kuwari, the President of Kahramaa,
announced during a press conference held at the Kahramaa main
building, that the prequalification of 16 international Solar
Power Developers has been completed, attracting major companies
and conglomerates who are world leaders in the development of
mega solar power plants.
Al-Kuwari said that the cost of the project will be determined
by the competitors through the tender, but he expected the cost
to amount to about QR2 billion, explaining that Kahramaa will
not pay this sum, but rather buy electric power units over a
period of 25 years at the lowest fee offered by the bidders.
Al-Kuwari added that the project comes in implementation of the
higher directives of H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the
Amir of Qatar, to reduce dependence on oil and gas to achieve
economic diversity, and in line with the economic and
environmental development pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030.
He clarified that the plant will have a production capacity of
at least 700 MW. As a first stage, 350 MW will be connected to
the grid by 2020 in achievement of the strategic objective set
in Qatar National Development Strategy 2018–2022.
Eng. Essa said that a land measuring 10kmsq located west of Doha
near Al-Kharsaah area has been allocated for the construction of
the solar power plant.
The project is structured as Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT)
for 25 years, where the ownership will be transferred to
Kahramaa after the end of the term. Siraj Solar Energy
participates in the project as a Strategic National Investor.
Al-Kuwari concluded that under this project it is expected to
achieve competitive power prices, save natural gas used in
traditional power generation, along with reducing carbon
emissions and preserving the environment. It is one of the
objectives of the national program for conservation and energy
efficiency (Tarsheed) to reduce 7% of harmful carbon emissions
in Qatar. Since it was launched by Kahramaa in 2012, Tarsheed
managed to reduce 10.6 tons of emissions.
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