Decarbonizing the electricity sector in Qatar using PV combined with ice thermal and battery storage

High daytime electricity demand from space cooling synergetic with predictable and reliable solar insolation creates a unique opportunity to exploit solar PV-enabled decarbonization solutions in Qatar. This paper examines the economic viability of combining utility-scale PV with ice thermal and battery storage to decarbonize the electricity sector in Qatar, which exclusively runs on gas generation. The problem is formulated in a two-stage stochastic linear programming that minimizes annual system costs at a given gas price. Under the current gas price of $3.3/MMBtu (gas-generated electricity at $37/MWh), PV and ice storage deployed in Qatar could reduce gas generation use and peak demand by 43% and 18%, respectively, and cut the annual system costs by 20%. At a gas price of $6.5/MMBtu (equivalent to carbon pricing at $60/ton of CO2), gas generation can be reduced by 60% using PV and ice storage. Reducing gas generation further is challenging since both cooling and non-cooling demands peak in August, whereas PV generation peaks in June, producing less surplus generation at a time of need, and ice thermal storage cannot cost-effectively outcompete already existing gas generations for highly seasonal cooling needs. Battery storage becomes cost-effective above a gas price of $9.2/MMBtu (equivalent to carbon pricing at $110/ton of CO2); it is primarily used to manage the diurnal behavior of non-cooling loads and could decarbonize the electricity sector by around 90%.