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Qatar connects huge solar farm to its national grid
26/10/2022
News
The Al Kharsaah solar power plant, one of the largest solar power plants in the Middle East, has been commissioned and connected to Qatar’s national grid.
Located 80 km west of Doha, Al Kharsaah is the first large scale photovoltaic plant in Qatar with 800 MWp installed solar capacity.
The plant was constructed on a 1,000-hectare site and integrates 2mn high-efficiency bifacial modules mounted on single-axis trackers. These panels, equipped with photovoltaic cells on the front and back, capture the sun’s direct rays on one side and the rays reflected on the ground on the other side, thus optimising electricity production.
Al Kharsaah has been developed and is operated by Siraj 1, which is jointly owned 40% by a TotalEnergies and Marubeni partnership, and 60% by QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions. The project includes a 25-year power purchase agreement between Siraj 1 and the power grid operator Kahramaa.
The solar farm can supply 10% of Qatar’s peak power consumption and will avoid 26mn tonnes of CO2 emissions during its lifetime, say the project partners.
The inauguration of Al Kharsaah follows QatarEnergy’s recent announcement of a new 900 MWp solar project for the Ras Laffan and Mesaieed industrial cities, with the support of TotalEnergies.
