IN 2022 football teams from across the globe will gather in the sweltering Qatari desert to battle it out for the World Cup.
Nestled in the heart of the Middle East Doha can often see temperatures soar over 40 C in the summer, meaning all 12 stadia must be air conditioned.
Qatari officials have big plans to do so and rather than use up their oil resources they want to see all the cooling technology powered by solar.
Qatar 2022's bid book director Yasir Al Jamal said it would be the first time these technologies have been combined to keep a stadium cool.
He said: “Stadium seats will be cooled using air pumped at the spectator ankle zone at a temperature of 18 C.
"The same air will also be projected from the back and neck area of the seats, ensuring that each seating row of each stadium provides maximum comfort and enjoyment to fans.”
Mr Jamal said the photovoltaic panels will export electricity to Qatar's national grid, which will make the cooling system carbon neutral and the system would be used to cool the competing teams' training facilities.
Solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels on the outside the stadia and on their roofs will harness energy from the sun.
It will be used to chill water, which in turn will cool air before it is blown through the stadium, keeping pitch temperatures below 27 C, though those high in the stands will have to make do with 35°C as the hot air rises.
Currently Qatar doesn’t have the infrastructure in place but there are plans to install 1,800MW of solar power (both PV and thermal) by 2020.
According to a local newspaper, Energy Minister Dr Mohamed Saleh al-said: “We want to produce more clean energy to save burning natural gas in power plants, which we can sell at higher prices globally.”
Saudi Arabia are also invest in solar, aiming to spend £100 billion over the next 20 years so they can sell more oil rather than subsidising its use at home.
Qatar will be the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup.
