Qatar to Launch Smart Grid Pilot Project

Qatar General Water and Electricity Corporation (Kahramaa) has announced plans to launch a smart grid pilot project in Duhail to introduce the technology in the country. The project will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will have an installed capacity to produce three to five MW of electricity and about 500 cubic metes of water. Kahramaa’s head of Renewable Energy Technology and Technical Affairs Department, Saleh Hamad Al Marri, said that:

“The project, to be built in Duhail, will be implemented in cooperation with Iberdrola, a Spanish private multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Basque Country. We also have the cooperation of Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) for the pilot project.”

Kahramaa also said that the grids will reduce operational costs. “Such grids will not only be cost-effective, they will also enable us to have effective control and remote monitoring. After the pilot project we will select (some grids) which are useful for Kahramaa for the national grid.”

Qatar, which has one of the highest per capita water and electricity consumptions in the world as well as a high carbon footprint, is looking to conserve resources. Yousef Janahi, Manager and Corporate Planning and Business Development at Kahramaa, explains:

“On the demand side management, we have created in Kahramaa a new department for energy conservation and energy efficiency. We are also auditing a lot of other measures to put in place aiming to conserve water and electricity resources in Qatar. Under Tarsheed we have a target to conserve about 35 percent of electricity and water in the next five years by reducing demand. And on the supply side, we are introducing efficient and environment friendly technology to produce about 200MW of electricity by using renewable resources.”