UPDATE 1 - Qatar Petroleum, QEWC to form USD-500m solar JV

A USD-500-million (EUR 459m) solar energy joint venture will be created in the middle of 2016 by Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), the Gulf Times said last week.

As previously announced, the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the formation of a joint green energy company. Under the plan, QEWC will take a 60% stake in it and the remaining 40% will be held by Qatar Petroleum.

QEWC general manager Fahd bin Hamad al-Mohannadi told the Gulf Times that the joint venture will become reality in the middle of the year, without disclosing specific details. The company head was quoted as saying that studies have found significant solar potential in Qatar and some potential locations have already been identified.

The Qatar Electricity and Water Company plans to reach a capacity of about 11 GW in the first half of 2018, as compared to 8.6 GW currently. The solar MOU comes in line with efforts to diversify Qatar's energy mix and increase the use of renewables.

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