Will develop power using solar energy

Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) has announced signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Qatar Electricity & Water Company (QEWC) to explore possibilities of developing power generation using solar energy in Qatar and beyond. Dr Khalid Klefeekh Al Hajri, Chairman and CEO of QSTec and Fahad Hamad Al Mohannadi, GM of QEWC, signed the MOU at QEWC’s headquarters in West Bay, Doha, the announcement revealed.

“QSTec is extremely proud to be signing this agreement with QEWC, as it marks the important progress towards providing a sustainable source of energy in Qatar, part of the Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Dr Al Hajri, about the MOU. “We hope that the collaboration will see many projects become a reality, both here in Qatar and across the globe.”

Al Mohannadi added: “Over the past several years, the region has seen a number of pioneering and strategic efforts to diversify energy resources and develop projects that rely on renewable energy. These are all efforts to help conserve traditional energy resources. We, at QEWC, believe that the State of Qatar and the Arabian Gulf have both geographic and climate advantages suitable for the development of solar energy. Together with QEWC’s experience in power generation and water desalination and Qatar Solar Technologies efforts in research and development, we will help develop an appropriate framework, which addresses the development and effective use of this promising technology in the region.”

QSTec claimed that its priority was to harness sustainable alternative source of energy, and in this regard, it will soon be producing high quality, solar-grade polysilicon, the key ingredient that goes into making efficient solar technologies, such as solar cells and modules that convert the power of the sun into energy. As a move towards this, QSTec said that its $1 billion polysilicon manufacturing plant located in Ras Laffan Industrial City, will initially produce 8,000 metric tonnes per year of polysilicon, which will be transformed into solar modules, which, in turn, will capture enough solar energy to power around 240,000 homes for an entire year.

QEWC, which reportedly owns assets over $6.1 billion with an equity portfolio capacity that exceeds 5,800 MW of net power and 258 million gallons per day of net potable water, on its part, is targeting business development opportunities in Qatar by regionally utilising solar powered technology for power generation and water desalination purposes. The MOU is a testament of QSTec and QEWC’s support to providing a sustainable source of energy in Qatar, the two entities jointly stated.