Qatar, one of the largest producers of liquefied natural gas in the world, announced on Tuesday two major solar power plant projects that will more than double its photovoltaic production within two years.
These new plants, in Mesaieed Industrial City (South) and Ras Laffan Industrial City (North), will bring the emirate's photovoltaic production to 1.675 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2024, said the national company Qatar Energy.
Qatar aims to produce 5 gigawatts of solar power by 2035
Their construction will be supervised by the South Korean conglomerate Samsung, for an initial investment of more than 600 million dollars (600 million euros).
Mesaieed and Ras Laffan are key locations for growing natural gas production in Qatar.
The country's first super-large solar power plant (800 megawatts), Al Kharsaa, west of Doha, started feeding into the national grid in July, according to industry sources.
It should be fully operational before the start of the FIFA World Cup on November 20.
According to the organizers of the tournament, who promise that it will be the first World Cup to achieve carbon neutrality, this plant will supply the eight stadiums with electricity.
Of the two million photovoltaic cells of Al Kharsaa, the sand and dust of the desert are cleaned every day by robots.
Qatar Energy said the same system would be used at the two new farms.
Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi hailed a major step in the Gulf state's efforts to "
increase the use of high-efficiency renewable energy
".
Qatar, which aims to produce 5 GW of solar power by 2035, is lagging behind its Gulf neighbors.
Saudi Arabia this year announced plans to increase production to more than 5 GW by 2030 and solar power plants have existed in the United Arab Emirates for nearly a decade.