Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI)’s Economics and Policy Programme is developing an energy systems model of Qatar to support policymaking in the areas of climate change mitigation and long-term infrastructure planning.
The project in partnership with Imperial College London, Kahramaa and the Al Attiyah Foundation, aims to equip Qatar with a state-of-the-art tool, of the same kind and standard used by leading governments worldwide, said Executive Director QEERI, Dr. Marc Vermeersch.
He also said that the system is being developed in line with Qatar’s increasingly ambitious commitment to carbon emissions targets, which will require a transformation of the national energy system in all its components such as industry, transport, power generation and buildings. “The tool also aims to facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue around climate change policy in Qatar,” said Dr. Vermeersch.
A member of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, QEERI is considered as one of the region’s leading institutes and is working in the fields of energy, water, corrosion and environment for more than a decade. Multiple centres at QEERI — namely Energy Center, Water Center, Environment and Sustainability Center, Corrosion Center, Natural and Environmental Hazards Observatory, Earth Sciences Program and Economics and Policy Program are working on a number of large projects that aim to make a specific contribution towards achieving sustainability in Qatar.
“Within our core labs and centres, we also offer various world-class services, supported by the institute’s highly qualified and experienced scientists, researchers and engineers,” said Dr. Vermeersch.
QEERI also has specific projects or subjects of research related to improving solar energy technologies to meet the challenges posed by desert conditions. “Our PhotoVoltaic Systems Performance and Reliability project addresses challenges hindering the implementation of Photovoltaic systems in desert environments, developing technical and operating solutions to mitigate the environmental impact on PV systems and their long-term reliability to assure bankability and reduce costs of PV projects in Qatar and the region,” said Dr. Vermeersch.
The project provides continuous provision of consultancy and testing service for local stakeholders and private companies and it has acquired laboratory accreditation according to ISO/IEC 17025 granted for relative PV testing methods under IEC standards.
Dr. Vermeersch said, “The PV-WEB (Worldwide External Business projects) tackles robotic cleaning and HSAT, leverages QEERI’s outdoor and indoor facilities to conduct industry-partnered testing on PV technologies for desert conditions.” He explained that PV-WEB has three main activities — Solar Consortium, which is a platform for QEERI to collaborate with international companies and Qatar stakeholders to accelerate the validation and deployment of solar technologies in desert conditions; PV-CAMPER, an international network of PV field test sites that performs multi-climate solar-related research and Industry partnerships, in which QEERI participates in specific multi-party research projects with a focus on desert field testing.
