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Ailyn Agonia
DOHA
Qatar's first large-scale solar power plant with a total capacity of at least 700MW will be operational in 2021 and could save the country around half-a-billion Qatari riyals compared to the use of fossil fuels and other types of fuels, according to Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) President Engineer Essa bin Hilal al Kuwari.
The official shared the information during the executive panel discussion on 'The Transformation of Doha City in the Preparation for FIFA World Cup 2022' held at the opening of the Qatar Green Building Conference in Doha on Sunday.
Kuwari said the solar plant, which is currently in the process of prequalification of solar power developers, has a capacity of approximately 10 percent of consumption in Qatar. He said the winning company will be announced by the end of June 2019 while the final phase of the project will be by the end of 2020.
"Aside from the solar plant, we are aiming for other projects. We are also urging property owners who have their own storage areas or gardens to have solar energy panels and we are going to buy sources of energy from them. We know land is very limited that is why we don't want to take large plots. We would like to use other platforms such as roofs. This is a very good initiative," he added.
Highlighting the contributions of Kahramaa in sustainability efforts in Qatar, the official underscored the positive impact of National Program for Conservation and Energy Efficiency (Tarsheed) which has succeeded in reducing the per capita consumption of electricity by 17 percent and water consumption by 18 percent.
Kuwari said,"Since the establishment of Tarsheed, we have achieved so many successes through clear policies, objectives and performance indicators to gauge the different steps that have been undertaken and the results that have been attained. We carried out awareness campaigns and we have set a number of standards.
"We are able to reduce high level of emissions and set another plan for the next coming years to reduce three tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and seven to eight tonnes in electricity and water. We also aim to diversify the sources of energy. All these things will lead to environment protection and preservation."
On the green car initiative in Qatar, he said five electric car charging stations have already been built.
Qatar Rail Managing Director and CEO Engineer Abdullah al Subaie emphasised the positive impact of having a well-established rail network in the country in addressing sustainability concerns in addition to social and economic impact.
Subaie said the index of traffic jams in Qatar is on the rise with about 100,000 to 120,000 new cars registered annually in the country and only about 1.5 percent of Qatar's population using public transport.
Citing a study by an independent think tank in 2016, he said the worsening traffic jams in Qatar has cost the country QR6.5 billion a year.
He said Qatar Rail aims to move around 400,000 to 450,000 people daily using Doha Metro by that time the facility becomes operational.
Subaie said,"If we try to reduce traffic jam by 50 percent, then we can save QR3 billion of the cost for the economy. If you speak about 20 years, you have saved QR60 billion, which is equivalent to the infrastructure cost (project cost). If we try to reduce the number of cars during peak time by 200,000 cars, then we are speaking about saving 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
"If we raise the level of public transport to 21 percent, then the project is successful according to the economic feasibility study."
He stressed the project's sustainable approach in terms of designs and materials. According to him, they have adopted an international standard for their stations which is not less than four-star classification.
The panel also included Msheireb Properties Acting CEO Engineer Ali al Kuwari and Arab Engineering Bureau CEO and Chief Architect/QGCB Board Member Architect Ibrahim Mohamed.
