Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), announced on Tuesday the release of first Qatar Solar Atlas which maps the Gulf country’s renewable energy potential.
QEERI said in a statement that the Solar Atlas is the culmination of research work conducted over the last five years by its Energy Centre.
It said the Atlas will support the development of national policies and identify new profitable investments and markets in solar power realm.
Veronica Bermudez, Senior Research Director at QEERI’s Energy Centre said: “Qatar is at the heart of the global solar belt and is blessed with abundant solar energy, and the solar map is the first step toward optimising the use of these resources and being able to forecast thermal or photovoltaic electricity production.”
Among several things, the Atlas ‘documents the uncertainty of solar and meteorological data, which are key elements in the technical and financial evaluation of solar energy conversion systems and provides solutions to minimise financial and technological risks.’
The Atlas also evaluates key solar climatic features, and the geographic and time variability of solar power potential in the country, with solutions to solar and power production forecasting, the statement noted.
Marc Vermeersch, Executive Director, QEERI added that the Energy Centre along with the state-of-the-art facilities at QEERI such as the Outdoor Test Facility and the PV Reliability Lab, and a network of 15 solar monitoring stations across Qatar, persevered to develop the Atlas.
The country’s first large-scale solar power generation project – the 800- megawatt Al Kharsaah solar photovoltaic power plant – is currently under construction.
