QatarEnergy is set to inaugurate its 458MW Ras Laffan and 417MW Mesaieed solar PV plants on 28 April, officially bringing capacity up to 1.675GW (MEES, 19 July 2024). Further gains are planned with QatarEnergy planning 2GW of solar PV capacity near the western city of Dukhan (MEES, 6 September 2024). This is part of the country’s plans to reach 4GW renewable capacity and 18% of power generation by 2030.
Qatar is also expanding its gas-fired capacity with a $440mn, 500MW open cycle gas-fired plant at Ras Abu Fontas slated for January 2027 start-up, though this is envisaged for peaking use only (MEES, 7 March), whilst the 2.4GW Ras Abu Fontas E CCGT is slated for 2028-29 start up (MEES, 14 February). (CONTINUED - 112 WORDS)