Renewables could rise from 12% of Qatar’s power capacity in 2025 to 25.9% by 2035, says GlobalData, with solar leading while gas remains the backbone of its power and water system.
Qatar’s installed power capacity will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% between 2025 and 2035, with solar expanding at a CAGR of 12.4% over the same period, according to a new report from GlobalData.
The analytics company said Qatar is accelerating utility-scale solar deployment to diversify its power mix, reduce domestic gas consumption for power generation and curb emissions intensity. It said it expects renewables to account for 25.9% of total power capacity by 2035, up from 12% in 2025.
“Qatar’s power sector is shifting from total reliance on natural gas toward a structured hybrid model,” said Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, power analyst at GlobalData. “Driven by the Qatar National Renewable Energy Strategy, the build-out of major solar facilities such as Al Kharsaah and the recently commissioned plants at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed, alongside the large-scale Dukhan development demonstrate substantial momentum in deploying low-cost clean generation across the peninsula.”
Solar pipeline
The 800 MW Al Kharsaah plant began supplying the grid in June 2022. Project company Siraj-1 owns it. Siraj Energy, a joint venture of QatarEnergy and Qatar Electricity & Water Co. (QEWC), holds 60% of Siraj-1, while TotalEnergies and Marubeni hold the remaining 40%. The plant sells its output to state utility Kahramaa under a 25-year agreement.
QatarEnergy inaugurated the 458 MW Ras Laffan and 417 MW Mesaieed plants in April 2025, taking Qatar’s solar capacity to 1,675 MW. Samsung C&T built both plants. In September 2025, QatarEnergy selected Samsung C&T as EPC contractor for the 2 GW Dukhan project, which is due to connect its first 1 GW phase by the end of 2028 and reach full capacity by mid-2029.
QatarEnergy has said Dukhan and its existing plants will supply up to 30% of Qatar’s peak electricity demand and cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 4.7 million metric tons a year.
Kahramaa launched the Qatar National Renewable Energy Strategy in April 2024. It targets about 4 GW of utility-scale renewables and about 200 MW of distributed generation by 2030, raising the renewable share of the power mix from 5% to 18%. Under its updated nationally determined contribution, Qatar has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 compared with a business-as-usual scenario.
Gas backbone
GlobalData said natural gas capacity will keep growing in absolute terms and account for about 74% of Qatar’s installed capacity in 2035. Combined-cycle gas turbines and cogeneration plants underpin the country’s independent water and power projects (IWPPs), which supply both electricity for summer cooling loads and thermal energy for seawater desalination.
“The cogeneration of potable water and power is a structural feature of Qatar’s utility system,” Saibasan said. “Gas-fired IWPP facilities provide critical firming capacity to absorb large influxes of solar energy during midday hours while securing baseload water desalination. Expanding flexible gas generation and modernizing grid management are essential prerequisites for accommodating the planned 4GW renewable target by 2030 without compromising system security.”
Qatar runs a single-buyer model, under which Kahramaa purchases electricity and desalinated water through long-term agreements. Kahramaa has also introduced net-billing rules for distributed generation.
Qatar has yet to commission a utility-scale battery. Kahramaa tendered consultancy services earlier this year for what it described as its first major utility-scale battery energy storage project, with bids due Feb. 15. It has not disclosed the project’s capacity.
“Qatar is leveraging its world-class solar irradiance and robust balance sheet to free up valuable natural gas volumes for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export markets while decarbonizing its domestic matrix,” Saibasan said. “Sustaining this pace will require continuing to align renewable integration with IWPP offtake commitments, meeting growing industrial demand, and maintaining high transmission reliability across the National Control Centre and regional GCC interconnection links.”
Kahramaa’s only grid-connected battery to date is a 1 MW/4 MWh pilot. It installed the Tesla Powerpack system at its Nuaijia substation in 2020.
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