Kahramaa: First Solar Energy Project to be Laid in 2013

Doha, December 3 Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) President Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al-Kuwari said that the tenders for engineering and building works to implement the electric to solar energy project he announced today, will be laid during the first quarter of 2013. The implementation of the project will take place over two phases; the first involving experimental projects at 5 to 10 megawatts, he said. The second, the revision and study of a business model based on the results of previous projects at the first phase, Eng. Al-Kuwari added during a press conference in attendance of HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry Monday at the eighteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the United Nations Climate Change Conference. This includes the possibility of engaging the private sector for investment which in turn benefits the Corporation and the sector, as projects are implemented with a production capacity between 150-200 megawatts over the next eight years in lands and stations operated by Kahramaa, he explained. The project will achieve the optimum allocation of land within the Corporation s infrastructure, the conduction of a study and placing a business model for projects at competitive prices with no high costs on Kahramaa, which creates an attractive environment for investment, Al-Kuwari pointed out. It encourages the private sector to get involved in primary industries and support the renewable energy sector, in addition to building the internal capabilities of the Corporation in this sector under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy and Industry, he said. Qatar boasts major investment opportunities enabling it to achieve its sustainable development goals through implementing human development projects whether on the economic, social, or environmental levels, the Kahramaa President explained. In response to Qatar News Agency s (QNA) question on the effect of locally renewed energy on costs, Al-Kuwari clarified that the Corporation does not see any negative effects to this transformation on prices in the foreseeable future, but rather that it encourages a study currently being conducted on the private sector and participants to produce solar energy for the Corporation to buy at preferential rates. Kahramaa President Eng. Essa bin Hilal Al-Kuwari asserted that since the Corporation s establishment, it has been keen on fulfilling the State of Qatar s electricity and water needs maintaining quality and the highest international and local standards in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030: "management of the environment such that there is harmony between economic growth, social development and environmental protection". The Corporation has set a strategic goal aimed at moving towards projects that achieve environmental sustainability through initiative and a campaign in implementation of Law 26 / 2008 on usage regulation, to call on everyone to preserve the environment, Al-Kuwari said. Energy production in Qatar is mainly based on the usage of natural gas as a fuel to produce electricity, which is sold to power plants at subsidized prices from the State treasury at a price much lower than the world, he said, adding that the production of one kilowatt of electricity from another renewable source saves production costs. Kahramaa s role in sustainability is one of the ways to ensure the provision of goods and services in order to achieve prosperity and growth and contribute to increasing quality of life and standards of living, in addition to the health and safety of citizens and the purity of the environment around them, Al-Kuwari explained. (QNA)