The Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), tenants of which include Chevron Qatar and GreenGulf, will start testing solar technologies in three or four months. The five year project has the goal to identify the best solar technologies in Qatar that can cope with the region’s dust, heat and humidity.

The installation of photovoltaic panels has already begun, and panels that do not perform well will be replaced with other products to gauge what performs best within Qatar’s extreme environment. Alternative methods of power generation and desalination are among the test projects that will ramp up at QSTP later this year.

Increased investment by ventures like QSTP (a Qatar Foundation initiative) are critical as Qatar sets to prove, not just say, that this small country will become an emerging green building and clean energy hub. With global events including the 2022 World Cup placing this small yet ambitious country under a huge spotlight, that light needs to be transparent, renewable and authentic. Qatar has a huge opportunity to show that it will diversify its economy away from oil and gas. So far the steps taken have been the right ones; a skeptical world will be looking for more.

Photo above is of the future Msheireb Project in downtown Doha.

From Bonnie James and the Gulf Times. Photograph of the Qatar desert below courtesy Leon Kaye.

Qatar Science and Technology Park, QSTP, Qatar Foundation, solar, clean energy, green building, best solar technologies, Chevron Qatar, GreenGulf, Doha, Msheireb Project, Qatar desert, Middle East, Gulf Times, Bonnie James

qatar desert Leon Kaye

About The Author

Leon Kaye

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, Inhabitat and now The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine. Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.