More than 300 delegates and an expert line-up of international and local speakers, will attend the Solar Qatar Summit in Doha, Qatar, next week.

The event, to be held on November 17 and 18 at The Ritz Carlton, will be inaugurated by Essa bin Hilal Al-Kuwari, president of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation – Kahramaa.

Qatar is turning to renewables with some major initiatives already under way, and a strong commitment by Qatar’s leaders to sustainable development.

Research and development is essential in combating the harsh elements impacting the performance of solar technologies and through the deployment of innovation and effective government policy, Qatar will be able to harness its solar energy potential, said the summit organisers.

Saleh Hamad Al-Marri, head of renewable energy technologies section, Kahramaa, will brief the audience on Kahramaa’s plans to implement solar energy projects in Qatar.

Qatar Solar Energy (QSE) has partnered with various international companies to manufacture high efficiency and state-of-the-art solar PV technologies in Qatar.  

Salim Abbassi, CEO of QSE will talk about their manufacturing facility which will produce two types of high efficiency crystalline modules: 1) Metal Wrap Through (MWT), which uses back contact, and 2) Hetrojunction (HIT) technology. In addition, QSE will produce Bifacial modules which has the ability to produce additional energy from the back side of the module using reflected sun rays on the backside of the module.

Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), an initiative of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D) is a primary incubator to promote technological advancement and to support research and development in the nation.   
QSTP focuses on four themes according to the Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS) announced in 2012 which includes developments in the areas of energy, environment, health sciences and ICT.  

Green Gulf has been involved in developing the Solar Test Facility at QSTP.   Omran Al Kuwari, CEO, GreenGulf will present its findings from the Solar Test Facility at the summit.

“With the gradual depletion of oil and gas reserves, it has become a growing realisation that renewable energy is the only viable alternative. The technological advancements that have been made into renewable energy has led to reduce costs and an increase in demand which is playing a vital role in ensuring Qatar’s continued commitment and investments into solar energy to help reduce carbon-footprint and extend the lifetime of natural resources. The Solar Qatar Summit will provide an ideal platform bringing together high profile keynotes, international and regional case studies, interactive discussions as well as an exclusive exhibitor lounge contributing to the developments and initiatives taking place in the solar energy industry,” said Brad Hariharan, project director at Expotrade, the organiser of the summit.

The expert speakers include: Prof Eicke R Weber from Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Germany; Bradley Jason Horn from Qatar Petroleum; Eng Abdulla Hassan Al-Meshadi, CEO of Msheireb Properties; Frank Wouters, renewable energy thought leader and former deputy director-general - International Renewable Energy Agency;  Dr Haitham Abu-Rub, professor, chair of electrical and computer engineering program, Texas A&M University at Qatar; Dr Mohamed Darwish, principal investigator – solar desalination, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Dr Amer Aladhadh, economic development advisor, Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Qatar.

The delegates will also have the opportunity to witness the latest in solar technology being showcased by GT Advanced Technologies, Monsson Group, Skypower Global, Green Gulf, Project Navigator, Altius Fotovoltaic, Yazaki, Eurosol, Si Tec, Mimizu, Solarity and many others at the summit. - TradeArabia News Service