The announcement was made at a special ceremony in Doha yesterday to sign the EPC contract between QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and Samsung C&T. QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions, a wholly-owned affiliate of QatarEnergy, has been tasked with investing in renewable energy and sustainability projects and products within Qatar and across the globe.
HE Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, president and chief executive officer of QatarEnergy witnessed the signing of the EPC contract. Attendees included Sechul Oh, president and chief executive officer of Samsung C&T Corporation and other senior executives from QatarEnergy and Samsung C&T.
“This IC Solar project is a major step in the implementation of our strategy to diversify Qatar’s energy resources and to increase the reliance on high-efficiency renewable energy, which is a cornerstone for a sustainable future," said al-Kaabi.
The project also reaffirms its commitment towards delivery on QatarEnergy’s sustainability strategy and mid-term target of having 5GW of solar generated power by 2035.
"This landmark project marks the first investment for our newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary, QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions, which will invest in and hold all our renewables and other sustainable initiatives going forward,” he said.
This is the second utility-scale solar project in Qatar. Along with Al Kharsaa Solar PV Power Plant, which is currently under construction, the IC Solar project will increase Qatar’s renewable energy generation capacity to 1.675GW by 2024.
The project will utilise high-efficiency bifacial modules mounted on single-axis trackers as well as cleaning robots that will operate daily to minimise losses due to soiling by removing dust from the PV modules. This will maximise the additional energy yield produced by the bifacial modules.
The project’s power generation capacity is strategically distributed between the two main industrial cities in Qatar, MIC and RLIC. MIC will have a 417MW plant and RLIC will have a 458MW plant. The two plants will occupy a combined area of 10sqkm.
The approximately QR2.3bn IC Solar project will result in direct emissions reduction of more than 28mn tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. The output of both plants will contribute to the reduction of QatarEnergy’s GHG (Greenhouse gas) footprints from its facilities in RLIC and MIC, most notable its NFE and NFS LNG expansion projects, in addition to expanding grid capacity in other locations.
(Ends)