The sovereign state of Qatar is getting close to opening its long-delayed 200-megawatt solar tender, according to recent reports.
Despite being first mentioned all the way back in late 2012, the solar tender has yet to officially launch — with numerous delays since that earlier announcement. That looks to now be ending, though, based on recent comments.
Given that Qatar currently has a stated goal of installing 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity by 2030, the 200-megawatt (MW) solar tender represents just a portion of the installations expected over the coming years — but is still a noteworthy quantity.
The idea for this tender first surfaced publicly as part of the country’s aim to install 1800 MW of new solar capacity by 2020. This first idea didn’t immediately materialize into concrete action, though. The tender was eventually scheduled for the first quarter of 2013 though — before that date passed with no action. It was then scheduled for October 2013, with the same outcome as before.
So, with all of that in mind, the recent news about the tender’s upcoming opening should be taken on a provisional basis. The news is from a local paper, though — the Al Sharq — so perhaps there is something to it.
Considering the growth of solar energy in the region in recent years, now probably would be a good time to hold the solar tender in Qatar. The recent tender in Egypt was heavily oversubscribed for solar, and Dubai landed bids lower than anything seen globally.
Other entities in the region have already begun increasing their solar energy goals — as evidenced by Dubai’s recent ramping up of its 2030 renewable energy goals. The emirate now expects to receive at least 15% of its overall energy mix via renewable energy by 2030. A substantial portion of this is expected to be via solar power.
Image Credit: Public Domain
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