Introduction
GreenGulf QSTP-B, an affiliate of GreenGulf Inc. and Chevron Qatar Energy Technology QSTP-B, an affiliate of Chevron Corporation will jointly establish a world class facility to test new and emerging solar technologies in order to understand their suitability for the Qatari and Gulf environments at the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP). The Facility will act as a gateway to developing strong and lasting commercial relationships with leading global solar energy companies and academic institutions. It will be crucial to providing data to support the business case for large scale solar production facilities in the region. The 35,000 square meters facility is located at the QSTP.
Technology
The facility will focus on commercial and near commercial technologies in 2 phases: Phase 1 will focus on Photovoltaic Solar (PV) technologies including monocrystalline, polycrystalline, thin film, organic and concentrated PV modules and systems; Phase 2 will focus on Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Solar thermal technologies. The technologies currently being evaluated are parabolic trough, linear fresnel and dish Stirling systems.
In addition, the facility will test a variety of off-grid solutions, building integrated technologies, LED lighting, smart grid, solar cooling and solar heating technologies. Together Chevron and GreenGulf will invest up to $20 million to establish and operate the test facility. Over 20 companies from Europe, Asia and North American will participate in the facility which will begin testing by Q4 2011.
Key Benefits
The facility will provide an opportunity for QSTP, GreenGulf and Chevron to develop partnerships and generate unique Intellectual Property to support roll-out of large scale solar facilities. Partners will also be able to demonstrate and quantify the behavior of their technology in the Qatari and Gulf environment. In addition, the project will provide Education City university students the opportunity to study and learn about solar technologies and be unique testing ground for strategic local partners who would benefit from solar technologies.
Applications
The research and analysis being conducted will assist the partners to understand the technical and commercial issues of applying solar technologies for a variety of uses. The main focus will be on small to large scale solar power generation, solar desalination, solar cooling and solar heating.