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GSO-TC13 Inaugural Meeting hosted by GORD

Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD) hosted in collaboration with GSO the inaugural meeting of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) Technical Committee for Renewable Energy and Power Storage Technologies (GSO-TC13) in Doha, Qatar. The two-day meeting was held at the Movenpick Hotel, Doha on 27-28 November, 2016 and was attended by members from various GCC countries.

The meeting commenced with the opening address by Dr. Yousef Alhorr, Founding Chairman of GORD who welcomed all members and appreciated their efforts of mutual cooperation and coordination. In his address, he commented:

Organizing such committees between the GCC states is beyond doubt very beneficial as it will facilitate in improving the codes and specifications of materials and systems related to renewable energy and hence, its performance in our region's climate.

The GSO-TC13 members reviewed the topics presented by each state and discussed the action plan for the regional standardizations in the field of renewable energy technologies and energy storage. Members also discussed the latest developments in this regard at the international level and shared regional case studies with a discussion on their outcomes and learnings in the relevant field. A five years action plan has been developed by the committee for their nearby future projects in compliance with international & regional references.

On this occasion, Eng. Abdul Aziz Shuweir, representative of the Standardization Organization of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) endorsed the importance of the GSO-TC13 and its role in standardizing regional specifications and assured that the GSO is ready to support the technical committee to carry out the tasks assigned to it in line with the objectives of the member states to maximize the use of renewable energy sources.

In the end,  Dr. Yousef Alhorr praised the achievements and contributions from the GCC states that were presented during the meeting and shared the recent research projects in the field of dual solar thermal and solar panels undertaken by GORD representing the state of Qatar in the committee. He also stressed on the importance of effective and continuous communication between the members of the committee, which would facilitate in overcoming any difficulties in achieving the optimal performance level for the committee to work towards the common objectives of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

GSO-TC13 Inaugural Meeting hosted by GORD
GSO-TC13 Inaugural Meeting hosted by GORD

Following the first day of the meeting, on 28th November 2016 a number of field visits were arranged for the members of the committee. They first visited Technohub – located at the Qatar Science & Technology Park, where they were briefed about the various research projects related to renewable energy including:

  • Hybrid Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
  • Concentrator Photovoltaics (CPVs)
  • Photovoltaic and Thermoelectric Hybrid System (PV-TEG)
  • Hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal Systems (PVT)
  • Bi-Facial PVs with cold mirrors
  • Crystalline and thin film PVs
  • Wind Turbines
  • Network Integration

After Technohub, the guests also visited Texas A&M University Qatar campus to see two of their research projects: Smart Grid Center and the Sustainable Energy and Clean Air Research Laboratory.

At the end, GSO-TC13 members praised the initiatives carried out by major research institutes in Qatar in addition to the great work done by GORD for arranging the first meeting of the GSO Technical Committee for Renewable Energy and Power Storage Technologies (GSO-TC13).