By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter

A feasibility study conducted by a consultant group, has found enormous potential for both wind and solar energy applications along the proposed 40km Qatar-Bahrain causeway.
In  a presentation made at the Solar Qatar Summit yesterday climatologist and environment specialist Pitta Govinda Rao said COWI studies have said along with providing road access between two GCC states the causeway project also provided substantial opportunities for both solar and wind energy projects.
The speaker also displayed images of the proposed model of the solar project to be implemented along the causeway if it is implemented.
The climatologist also explained the advantages that solar plants have against  nuclear reactors.  Besides incurring huge operational costs, nuclear plants are not only a safety risk to the region where they are located but they also require highly skilled/well trained personnel for commissioning and decommissioning, pointed out Rao. he country also requires international approvals, consent and license for storage and disposal of raw materials for nuclear reactors while all decisions on solar  could be arrived at the local level, he said while citing that the country needs to depend on imports for raw materials. Besides the raw materials are dangerous and difficult to handle, he said.
While insisting that nuclear power is not a solution to the negative impact of climate change, Rao said one of its major disadvantages is the absence of long term storage facilities and treatment of radioactive waste.
Solar energy, he said, not only offers protection against fuel price volatility but plants could be established in desert areas. “Concentrated solar plants could be coupled with desalination plants, using reverse osmosis technology and they could be built to different capacities,   
The speaker also observed that Qatar’s plan is to install 18,00MW of solar power by 2024 and a $1bn investment on a Ras Laffan plant to produce 8,000 MTPY of poly silicon is a major initiative in this direction.