(ECNS) -- The 800MW Al Kharsaah Solar Power Plant, with the components supplied by Chinese companies, was connected to the grid at full capacity on Tuesday, marking the first large-scale ground solar power station in Qatar.
Located in the desert area about 80 kilometers west of its capital Doha, the power plant is the world's third largest photovoltaic power station so far.
The Al Kharsaah project is expected to provide about 1.8 billion kWh of clean electricity for Qatar each year to meet the annual electricity consumption of about 300,000 households, and reduce carbon dioxide by about 900,000 tons per year.
The Al Kharsaah project, which can meet 10 percent of the country's peak electricity demand, has profound significance in Qatar and even the entire Middle East, said Saad Al-Kaabi, Minister-State for Energy Affairs of Qatar at the inauguration ceremony.
It significantly increased the proportion of renewable energy in the country's energy consumption, and will contribute to the diversified development of economy, said the minister.
As the organizer of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar promises to host "the first carbon-neutral World Cup."
The project, starting in July 2020, was undertaken by a joint venture formed by three Chinese enterprises, mainly responsible for installing photovoltaic brackets and components, as well as building step-up transmission substations and grid connection stations.
