Country: Qatar
Power capacity: 800 MW
Owner and Operator: SPV Siraj 1
Partners: TotalEnergies and Marubeni (40%), Siraj Energy (60%)
The Al Kharsaah solar power plant was inaugurated in October 2022. Located 80 km west of Qatar's capital, Doha, the Al Kharsaah Solar PV Independent Power Producer (IPP) project is the country's first large-scale solar power plant and is set to significantly reduce its environmental footprint. It covers 1,000 hectares (the equivalent of approximately 1,400 soccer fields) and features two million bifacial solar modules mounted on trackers for achieving substantial power gains. The plant also features a semi-automated cleaning system for the solar modules that cleans the dust and sand off every single module once every four days.
During its first year of operation, it is expected to generate almost two million megawatt-hours (MWh), the equivalent energy consumption of approximately 55,000 Qatari households.
The start-up of the Al Kharsaah solar power plant represents a milestone in the country's energy history, since it is set to produce 10% of its peak electricity demand at full capacity. Over its lifespan, it will also enable Qatar to reduce its CO2 emissions by 26 million metric tons.