(MENAFN- The Peninsula) sanaullah ataullah |
The Peninsula
The Ministry of Transport has targeted to switch 35 percent of the total vehicles of its fleet and 100 percent of its public transport buses to electric by 2030.
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani has said that the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030 aims to transform Qatar into a state capable of achieving sustainable development.
“The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC) has set an ambitious strategy to achieve sustainable development which relies on clean energy, solar power and other renewable energy expanding electric transportation and limiting the use of environmental pollutants,” said the Minister.
He was speaking in a video message, shared by the Government Communication Office (GCO) on its Twitter handle, on the occasion of Earth Day.
“Earth Day” is an annual global event celebrated on April 22 to promote environmental consciousness and raise awareness of the various issues that impact our planet. The theme for Earth Day 2023 is“Invest In Our Planet”.
“The government of Qatar has worked over the last period to encourage all segments of civil society to learn about the local ecosystem and how to preserve it,” the Minister of Environment and Climate Change added.
Speaking in the same video message, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Land Transport Affairs at the Ministry of Transport (MoT) Eng Hamad Essa Abdullah said that Qatar intends to be an inspiring leader in the transition to electric energy.
“On October 16, 2022, the Ministry of Transport was awarded the Guinness World Record Certificate for Lusail Bus Depot, the Largest Electric Bus Depot,” said Abdullah.
He said that the Ministry of Transport aims to have at least 35 percent of vehicles operate using electricity and 100 percent of electric buses by 2030.
“In celebration of World Earth Day, the State of Qatar is proud to showcase the many strides that the nation has made in addressing global environmental challenges through promoting sustainable development goals by supporting environmental and sustainability efforts,” GCO has tweeted.
The Lusail Bus Depot had set a record in the Guinness World Records Book as the largest electric bus depot with a capacity of 478 buses.
The Depot is the first in the Middle East to rely on solar power as it includes 11,000 PV solar panels to generate 4 megawatts a day to feed its buildings with needed power.
Al Kharsaah Power Plant with a capacity of 800 megawatts has emerged as the most successful project of renewable energy in Qatar.
QatarEnergy plans to reach 5,000 megawatts (5 gigawatts) of solar power production by 2035. Work has started for building two solar power projects with a capacity of 875 megawatts - about 400 megawatts from each project - at Ras Laffan City and Mesaieed City for QatarEnergy. With these projects, the production of solar power in the country will reach about 1,700 megawatts by 2024.