Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) has been allocated land at Al Kharsaah, 80km west of Doha, for construction of a solar power plant with an initial generating capacity of 500MW. The project is scheduled to start up in mid-2020, after which the state generator intends to double capacity to 1GW.
QEWC managing director Fahd al-Muhannadi says first phase development will cost around $500mn. He says QEWC will soon announce a list of local and international firms to be invited to bid for the project which will mark a departure by Qatar from its historical focus on gas-fired power projects – hardly surprising for a country with the world’s third largest gas reserves. (CONTINUED - 878 WORDS)
