Qatar will seek tenders for a 1,800MW solar energy plant in 2014, according to the local organiser of the UN Climate Change Conference COP 18, which is currently taking place in Doha
According to a report by Reuters, the plant will cost between US$10bn and US$20bn to construct and will provide electrical power to desalination plants within the country.
Qatar is currently the world's highest per capita greenhouse gas emitter and the planet's leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter.
Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya, chairman of organisers of COP18, remarked, "We need to diversify our energy mix."
Al-Attiya revealed that the plant, which has been scheduled for completion by 2018, would "be developed in a concession format" and would increase the share of renewable energy in Qatar's electricity generation mix from zero to 16 per cent.
The host nation for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 has a current power generation capacity of 7,000MW and an energy consumption rate of around 5,000MW, which has been growing by 10 per cent annually.
The UN-led summit COP 18, which has attracted participants from nearly 200 countries, will run until 7 December 2012.
