Qatar to Spend Up to $20 Billion on Solar

COP18, Doha, Qatar, UNFCCC, climate change, solar energy, clean tech, solar power, desalinationLike Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, Qatar uses up a lot of its own fossil fuels – either to power energy-intensive desalination plants or complicated subsidies. The emirate is the world’s largest per capita consumer of energy, a topic that has come up time and again at the ongoing COP18 climate talks in Doha, and one of the slowest to respond to the call for emissions reductions. But that doesn’t mean no progress has been made.

This year Qatar joined 16 other industrialised, emerging economies and developing countries in signing the Agreement on the Establishment of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, invests heavily in Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, and recently announced that it plans to build a $20 billion solar plant.

And most recently the OPEC producer announced at the climate talks that it will begin to seek tenders for an 1,800 megawatt (MW) solar-powered plant in 2014. The $10-$20 billion plant is expected to be complete in 2018 and will be built in a concession format, Reuters reports.

When complete, the new solar-powered facility will bring the small nation’s renewable energy mix up to 16%, which is crucial to its sustainable development, according to its top climate negotiators.

“We need to diversify our energy mix,” said Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya, chairman of the Qatari organizers of climate talks in Doha.

The new plant will produce the energy required to power its own desalination plants, which currently rely on liquefied natural gas (LNG.)

Albeit still controversial, Qatar has demonstrated its capacity and willingness to take a greener turn. The convention center hosting the COP18 event is solar-powered and the state research group GORD unveiled a homegrown hybrid vehicle concept that would produce fewer emissions and use less coal.

And by 2022, Qatar will be able to show off it’s solar-powered football stadiums in time for that year’s World Cup.

:: Reuters

Tafline Laylin
Tafline Laylinhttp://www.greenprophet.com
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

Read More

1 COMMENT
  1. You can pick any coloring intermixture of unilluminated and light that will fixture both, more youthful and matured, women. There are loads of design patterns which you can gripe or grip|be firmly fixed|adhere} to and include your not to be communicated taste to existence|create} it not merely supposed or fancied apparition unique. extended prom dresses, short prom dresses, prom v rosary, multi-press design gown could be certainly a present to view-plug. at any duration you would like plainness within your prom dress, opt using the disappoint chiffon prom dress.karen millen dresses

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

TRENDING

Desalination experts debunk Aqua Solaire, the floating desalination barge

AI makes it easy to dream, develop, and create images of what could be world-changing ideas, until the reality sets in. A new project making the rounds is Aqua Solaire, an allged French concept for a solar-powered desalination vessel designed to bring drinking water to coastal communities facing drought, storms, and infrastructure failures.

5 projects to help kickstart your company’s sustainability journey 

True progress happens when environmental ambition meets action. Decarbonizing efficiently is possible for any business in any sector, but actually getting started can sometimes feel daunting.   The trick? It’s to start small and build momentum. Here are five potential projects to help you get started.  

24 7 renewable energy: how solar, wind, batteries and AI SaaS replace fossil fuels

A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency based in Abu Dhabi makes something clear that many in the industry already suspected. When solar and wind are paired with battery storage, they can deliver reliable, round the clock electricity at costs that compete with, and often beat, fossil fuels.

Hormuz 2026 Conflict Poses an Energy and Food Security Dilemma in a Warming World

As tensions rise in one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, the ripple effects go far beyond oil—touching food systems, climate pressures, and regional stability

Japan wants to build a solar panel ring around the moon

Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand,  the Japanese scientists say.

How to quiet noise from construction in your office

Streets need to be resurfaced in New York but the humming and grinding noise is unsettling. Noise is environmental pollution. 

EarthX and a blueprint for sustainable investing

Trammell S. Crow, a Dallas-based businessman and father of four, is focusing his efforts on impact investing, and media that focuses on saving the planet through EarthX.

Mining Afghanistan’s Mineral Discoveries Similar to Avatar

Now that American forces in Afghanistan are commemorating the longest period of any war that America has been involved in, including the 1965-73 Vietnam War, the recent discoveries of large and extremely valuable mineral and metal deposits may finally bring to light a reason to continue the presence of US fighting forces in this war torn and backward country.

From Pilot Plant to Global Stage: How Aduro Clean Technologies’ 2026 Expansion Signals a Turning Point for Chemical Recycling Investors Like Yazan Al Homsi

The company's Next Generation Process (NGP) Pilot Plant in London, Ontario, has officially moved into initial operating campaigns, generating the kind of structured, repeatable data that separates laboratory promise from commercial viability.

Nobul’s Regan McGee on Shareholder Value: “Complacency Is the Silent Killer” 

Why the governance framework designed to protect shareholders so...

Should You Invest in the Private Market?

startustartup Unlike public stock exchanges, which offer daily trading, strict...

How to build a 100-year-company

Kongō Gumi is a Japanese construction company, purportedly founded in 578 A.D., making it the world's oldest documented company. What can we learn about building sustainable businesses from them?

How AI Helps SaaS Companies Reduce Repetitive Customer Support Work

SaaS products are designed for large numbers of users with different levels of experience, and also in renewable energy.

Popular Categories