Global energy company, Total, has announced plans to invest in Qatars solar energy sector by establishing local partnerships
Total chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne, who was in the Qatar for the 80th anniversary celebrations of the company's presence in the country, announced, "We have learnt recently that Qatar Petroleum (QP) is establishing a new company in partnership with Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), the main producer of utilities in Qatar, in order to develop some solar farms in the country. We have established solar business in Abu Dhabi, and would be pleased to do in Qatar as well.?
Pouyanne also mentioned that the company is keen to establish a joint venture between SunPower and the new energy company that QP and QEWC have announced. SunPower, for which Total owns majority stakes, is a solar energy company that designs and manufactures crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, roof tiles and solar panels.
QP and QEWC announced the joint venture for the generation of electricity from solar power in December last year. The joint venture, which will have 40 per cent stake by QP and the remaining 60 per cent by QEWC, is aimed at diversifying the sources of energy production and increasing reliance on renewable sources.
Total already has a presence in the solar sector in the UAE with their Shams power plant in Abu Dhabi, which was built in partnership with Masdar and Abengoa Solar and is the largest concentrated solar thermal power plant in the Middle East.
