QatarEnergy has awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for its industrial cities solar power project (IC Solar) to Samsung C&T, a South Korean construction and engineering company.
This project includes 2 large-scale photovoltaic (or PV) solar power plants to be built in Mesaieed Industrial City (MIC) and Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC) with investments of $632 million, and is expected to start electricity production by the end of 2024.
HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy Mr. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, and the President & CEO of Samsung C&T Corporation Mr. Sechul Oh, witnessed the signing of the EPC contract.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi Qatar Minister of State for Energy Affairs President & CEO – QatarEnergy
“This IC Solar project is a major step in the implementation of our strategy to diversify Qatar’s energy resources and to increase the reliance on high-efficiency renewable energy, which is a cornerstone for a sustainable future. It also reaffirms our commitment towards the delivery of QatarEnergy’s Sustainability Strategy and our mid-term target of having 5 GW of solar-generated power by 2035. It also gives me great pleasure that this landmark project marks the first investment for our newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary, QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions, which will invest in and hold all our renewables and other sustainable initiatives going forward.”
This is the second utility-scale solar project in Qatar. Along with Al Kharsaa Solar PV Power Plant, which is currently under construction, the IC Solar project will increase Qatar’s renewable energy generation capacity to 1.675 GW by 2024.
The project will utilize high-efficiency bifacial modules mounted on single-axis trackers as well as cleaning robots that will operate daily to minimize losses due to soiling by removing dust from the PV modules. This will maximize the additional energy yield produced by the bifacial modules.
The project’s power generation capacity is strategically distributed between the two main industrial cities in Qatar, MIC and RLIC. MIC will have a 417 MW plant and RLIC will have a 458 MW plant. The two plants will occupy a combined area of 10 square kilometers.
The IC Solar project will result in direct emissions reduction of more than 28 million tons of CO2 over its lifetime. The output of both plants will contribute to the reduction of QatarEnergy’s GHG footprints from its facilities in RLIC and MIC, most notable its NFE and NFS LNG expansion projects, in addition to expanding grid capacity in other locations.
