Qatar state power utility Kahramaa has received bids for its first large solar photovoltaic (PV) development. This will be built 80km west of Doha at Al Kharsaah and will have 700MW capacity. Of this, 350MW will be connected to the grid in the first quarter of 2021, Kahramaa tweeted on 6 August. Full commercial operation is scheduled for first quarter 2022. Qatar originally intended the project’s capacity to be 500MW and envisaged start-up in mid-2020 (MEES, 29 September 2017). However, gas-rich Qatar has been slow to recognize the benefits of solar power, with solar capacity amounting to just 5MW at the end of 2018, according to Abu Dhabi-based renewables agency Irena.