QatarEnergy has unveiled plans to develop the 2GW Dukhan solar power plant in Qatar as part of its strategy to significantly expand the country’s solar energy capacity.
The initiative is set to double Qatar’s solar power production, marking a substantial step towards reducing carbon emissions as part of the country’s energy transition strategy.
To be located in the Dukhan area, the proposed solar photovoltaic (PV) project is expected to become one of the largest solar facilities globally. The Dukhan solar power project will increase Qatar’s total PV solar power capacity to approximately 4GW by 2030.
According to QatarEnergy, the total estimated renewable solar energy will account for around 30% of Qatar’s total electricity generation capacity.
The Dukhan solar power plant was announced by Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.
The new project will join QatarEnergy’s existing solar assets, including the 800MW Al-Kharsaah solar power plant, which was inaugurated in 2022.
Additionally, the state-owned energy company is currently constructing two solar projects in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed industrial cities, which will collectively contribute a total of 875MW of clean energy.
These solar PV projects are expected to be operational by the end of this year.
Al-Kaabi said: “I am pleased to announce that, in line with our Sustainability Strategy, we will more than double our solar power production capacity to about 4,000 megawatts by 2030 through the world-scale, 2,000 megawatt Dukhan Solar Power Plant.”
“I would like to emphasise that developing solar power plants is one of Qatar’s most crucial initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions, develop sustainability projects, and diversify electricity production, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 4.7 million tons per annum.”
In a related development, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power recently commenced commercial operations at the 700MW Ar Rass 1 solar PV independent power plant (IPP).
This project, which is located in the Qassim province near Ar Rass city, is part of Round Three of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) led by the Saudi Ministry of Energy.
