**1. Introduction**

Qatar is committed to achieving its Vision 2030, which aims to create a sustainable and diversified economy as well as a healthy and secure society. One of the key strategies to achieve this vision is through a major shift towards clean energy [1]. Given the country's geographic location, Qatar is well-suited to harnessing the power of the sun to achieve its sustainable electricity goals. The country has abundant sunlight throughout the year, making it an ideal location for the installation of solar PV arrays [2]. Qatar has already taken significant steps towards achieving its vision of clean energy and has invested heavily in solar panel farms, such as the 800 MW Al-Kharsaah Solar Power Plant, which is expected to power around 10% of the country's energy needs [3]. These farms are a critical component of Qatar's clean energy strategy, but more can be undertaken. The majority of Qatar's energy load is domestic use, especially for cooling during the summer months, as noted by the Annual Statistics Report 2021 of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA), accounting for 38,284,270 MWh out of the total amount of electricity generated nationally per year (Figure 1) [4]. It is clear from the figure that domestic users account for nearly four times the number of industrial consumers. This fact supports the objective of this study, indicating that residential buildings have the potential to play a significant role in the transition toward clean energy and achieve milestones toward the national net-zero target. At the time of this study, there is still limited progress in deploying solar panels on home roofs, despite the country's high levels of sunshine and the potential benefits that such installations can bring [2].

**Citation:** Banibaqash, A.; Hunaiti, Z.; Abbod, M. Assessing the Potential of Qatari House Roofs for Solar Panel Installations: A Feasibility Survey. *Solar* **2023**, *3*, 650–662. https:// doi.org/10.3390/solar3040035

Academic Editor: Jürgen Heinz Werner

Received: 22 July 2023 Revised: 25 September 2023 Accepted: 26 October 2023 Published: 10 November 2023

**Copyright:** © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

**Figure 1.** Domestic energy consumption [4].

Deploying solar panels on home roofs can contribute to the country's clean energy goals by creating a distributed network of clean energy production. This can help reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels (as well as the cannibalization of its primary national exports), lower carbon emissions, and create a more resilient energy system. Given that the country is one of the main energy exporters and experiences a high number of sunny days, it can enable significant clean energy generation that can be exported [2]. However, further research is needed to identify the potential for this initiative and its impact on the country's move towards clean energy. This includes examining factors such as the availability of suitable roof space, the orientation of the roofs, and the presence of any shading or obstructions that might limit the effectiveness of the solar panels. By conducting such research, stakeholders can better understand the potential of solar panels on residential roofs and develop strategies to accelerate and optimize their deployment.

#### **2. Drivers for Roof Solar Panels in Qatar**

Qatar has made progress in large-scale solar farm investments, but residential solar panel deployment is still needed to achieve the nation's clean energy vision by 2030 [1]. Previous research has identified key challenges, as summarized in Figure 2, that must be addressed before scaling up solar panel deployment in Qatar [5]. These challenges include a lack of interest in renewable energy, competition from other energy sources, uncompetitive pricing due to subsidized conventional electricity, limited awareness of renewable energy, insufficient government initiatives, and a lack of environmental concern. Similar challenges exist in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Thus, addressing these issues is necessary before considering residential and commercial solar panel deployment in Qatar. A national roadmap for sustainable energy is crucial for achieving this long-term goal.

**Figure 2.** Five key challenges to residential solar PV adoption [5].

By considering the six drivers for promoting solar panel adoption, namely potential, awareness, the net-zero pathway, energy efficiency, lowering subsidies, and sustainability, stakeholders can develop effective strategies to encourage the installation of solar panels and achieve the vision of a sustainable future (Figure 3).

**Figure 3.** Six PANELS drivers [authors].
