Executive Summary
This solar installation pilot project was a joint venture between QF as the implementing agency and the Doha city council as the funding entity. The project was implemented in 10 schools and ten hospitals at a total cost of 18.8 M Riyals. As a result of this study, Doha’s whole city may be powered by solar energy. Project implementation and projected outputs and outcomes were assessed as part of this evaluation’s goals. It also looked at how it affected the pilot institutions in terms of energy efficiency and environmental impact.
The evaluation employed a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, including observations, desk review of project documents, detailed literature review, survey, and interviews with key stakeholders and partners in the project to gather data. The project’s outcomes proved to be highly efficient, effective, and relevant to the stakeholders. Its impact was immediately felt by the beneficiary schools and hospitals, who reported a reduction in electricity costs and stabilized power in their institutions. Its successful implementation gave Doha city government the motivation to roll out even a large-scale solar power in the city. Finally, all the stakeholders agreed that the project is highly sustainable and can be replicated elsewhere since it is not much intensive in terms of cost and the nature of its implementation.
Introduction
With an average of 9.5 hours of sunlight each day, little cloud cover, and enough space, Qatar is a prime location for solar energy production. In this country, there is a lot of room for small, medium, and large-scale solar energy projects. Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are well-suited to the country’s worldwide horizontal irradiance of 2,140 kWh/m2 year. Additionally, Qatar has a direct normal irradiance of 2,008 kWh/m2 every year, that is beyond the criterion of 1,800 kWh/m2 every year for solar energy (Zafar, 2021). Located in a region with a lot of solar energy potential, the county has an ambitious goal of contributing 2 percent of its power to the national grid by mid-2022. Since solar energy offers several advantages, such as energy security, improved air quality, lower GHG emissions and job possibilities this transition has been made to solar energy.
Having Qatar as a regional economic Centre has helped the country’s efforts to produce solar energy. Researchers, institutions and pilot projects have been working over the past decade to increase the country’s solar capacity (Cen et al., 2018). The project was implemented in 10 schools and ten hospitals and was fully funded by the Doha city council at a total cost of 18.8 M Riyals. Its aim was to establish the viability of the full implementation of solar energy in the whole city of Doha.
Purpose and Objectives of this Evaluation Report
In the overall survey, the obtained objectives and effect of this project from its commencement to date were appraised. It evaluated whether the project was implemented and delivered activities and outputs on time and within the estimated cost. It also assessed the strengths and weaknesses realized during the project implementation for any adjustments or modifications in future projects. The scope of this assessment report covered solar panel installation and commissioning activities implemented in 10 public schools and ten hospitals in Doha city from inception to date. It also looked at how it affected the pilot institutions in terms of energy efficiency and environmental impact. The assessment also looked at the project’s long-term viability and any lessons gained that may be applied in the future.
Evaluation Questions
The assessment attained its goals by clearly paying attention to these key areas: the reason behind the initiation of this project and the processes and activities which were planned for the projects, and how they were implemented. What were the variations during implementation, and what caused them. What impact did the project create in the institutions it was implemented and their surroundings. Finally, what is the likelihood of sustaining this project and the lessons learned during its implementation.
The Stakeholders and Users of this Project
This solar installation project was carried out by QF, who are the lead consultants and implementers on behalf of the Doha city council. Therefore, top management of QF, including the board of directors, project manager, and project staff alongside the officials of the Doha city council government led by the city mayor, will be primary users of this report (Touati et al., 2020). Besides, Kahramaa being the sole body responsible for electricity supplies in Qatar, will be interested in using information generated in this report for future engagements in solar energy (Bhaumik, 2021). The management of the 10 public schools and the 10 health facilities in Doha city used for this pilot project will also need this report for their own use.
Methodology
Using both quantitative and qualitative methods in an all-inclusive design, the assessment sought to enhance the process and get a deeper understanding (Al-Obaidi & Enjeti, 2018). The evaluation of this pilot solar installation in the city of Doha was conducted through observation, desk review of key project documents, detailed literature review, survey, and interviews with key stakeholders and partners in the project.
Observations
This technique of data collection was used throughout the implementation phase of the project right from its inception. The project management team set out the observation schedule sheets that were used to track the implantation of the processes and activities of this pilot project on a daily basis (Pinheiro & Pinheiro, 2018). It helped generate key and vital data about how personal carried out their activities and completed each task they were assigned each day.
Review of Key Project Documents
Step by step review of all documentation of the project, including files, plans, assumptions, agreements, reports (daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports), and all other information needed in project planning were conducted by the project evaluation team (Hassabou, 2018). This formed the guide and basis for the project manager and the assessment team to understand the context of the project implementation and what was expected from each project activity (Laursen, Svejvig, and Rode, 2017). It helped put into focus the project deliverables against the project outcomes.
Literature Review
There was a thorough analysis of all relevant policy papers, planning processes, project documentations, statistical models, and reports as well as past assessments, reviews and studies that were relevant to this evaluation. This will help the evaluation team ensure that as they progress through the project evaluation (Laursen, Svejvig and Rode, 2017). They are well-informed and up-to-date on the subject they are evaluating, and it will help the team focus on the areas that need more scrutiny (Pinheiro & Pinheiro, 2018). It will also help broaden the evaluation team’s knowledge base in their assessment work and assist the project management in contextualizing the evaluation findings.
Survey
Research questionnaires were developed and administered to sample respondents composed of workers, teachers, clinicians, and medics from schools and hospitals that were selected for the pilot phase of the solar energy installation in Doha city. The questions covered the efficiency and effectiveness of solar energy compared to other sources; its impact on the institutions so far, the overall cost of maintenance, quantity, and quality of power generated. The was also another set of questionnaires for QF staff implementing the project about the project cost, ease of implementation, variations witnessed during the implementation, and whether the project is sustainable or not (McCombes, 2019). Four workers from each of the ten schools were chosen at random using a simple random sampling procedure; and 4 employees from each of the 10 hospitals (Ali, Khan, & Bermak, 2019). The same technique was also used to select 20 staffs of QF who implemented the solar panel installation project; bringing the total number of respondents for the survey to 100.
In-Depth Interview with Key Stakeholders
Stakeholder interviews were carried out for the managing director of QF, two middle-level managers of QF, heads of schools, and all CEOs of hospitals in the pilot solar installation project. In addition, top officials of Doha city who funded the project were also interviewed (Laursen, Svejvig, and Rode, 2017). This was necessary to help the project team get more in-depth information about perceptions, insights, attitudes, and experiences on the project implementation and its impact.
Evaluation Results
This evaluation was based on the project plan, the activities that were carried out throughout each phase of the project, and the completion dates for each activity. At each level of the project management, the analysis followed the Gantt chart’s sequence of activities. It looked at the output and outcomes delivered for each activity against the plan. The evaluation also checked on the project milestones as were projected in the plan.
Table 1: Evaluation of results
Performance Indicators
Energy losses during the transition of light photon power to electricity power by PV semiconducting cells reduce the PV power generator’s performance compared to older systems like Diesel engines. PV power systems lose energy because the incoming solar radiation deviates from the aperture of the PV panel (Okonkwo et al., 2021). When evaluating these systems, the specific performance indicators that take into account the characteristics of PV power systems are utilized ((Al Wahedi & Bicer, 2020). There are weather-related parameters, like as irradiance, and system-related aspects such as the efficiency of PV panels.
Beneficiaries within a short distance might see the value of the initiative right away, who were the 10 schools and 10 hospitals used as the pilot institutions by the Doha city authority (Heider, 2017). The verdict of this question was that 99.6% of the respondents said that the project was highly relevant and beneficial to their institutions, with only 0.4% of the respondents being non-committal on the question.
On the technical assistance, the beneficiaries were asked to rate the relevance of the technical assistance they have received on the mode of use and application of solar power in their institutions. The overwhelming majority of the respondents’ equivalent to 95.5% were satisfied with the level of technical support offered to them by the project implementation team and that the assistance was relevant.
Project Management’s efficiency
The Qatar Foundation (QF) and the city of Doha collaborated on the project. While Doha City provided the project’s financial support, QF was in charge of overseeing its implementation from its beginnings. All key stakeholders in the project dully attended all the meetings convened to review the project performance and progress of its activities (Sundqvis, 2019). The project team was asked to indicate to what extent responsibilities for joint management, implementation, coordination, and collaboration had been clearly established at the beginning of the project. 89.7% of the respondents agreed to a large, with only 10.3% saying to a small extent. The same tendency was seen in the in-depth interviews, which also had a positive verdict.
Project Effectiveness and Efficiency
According to daily, weekly and quarterly reports, observation reports, document reviews, surveys, and interviews, all the activities implemented satisfactorily achieved the objectives of the project set out at the inception. The overall project results rating was highly satisfactory; the project delivered expected results and reached planned objective and outcome level targets (Sundqvis, 2019). Almost all output-level indicators were met during the implementation. By August 2021, all the targets had been achieved, with 11 surpassing the project expectations. However, the funding target was not met, with the expenditure being less than the project’s proposed budget by about 6%. Meaning there was prudent management of the funds, a demonstration of efficient use of money from the project team.
The QF staff who implemented the pilot solar installation project were also asked about the overall project cost, and 98% of them said that the project was very cost-effective, value for money, and cheap. On the ease of implementing this project, all the staffs were highly satisfied that this project was very easy to implement and it did not require a lot of technical training to implement. Further, they all confirmed that there were no major variations witnessed during the implementation of the pilot project in the 10 schools and 10 hospitals in Doha city. The interview carried out with heads of this institution also unanimously gave satisfactory approval that this project was useful, cost-effective and that their institutions had witnessed a reduction in power costs.
Financial Management
Expenditures in general were in line with expected allocations as per the budget, with only a slight variation of about 6% in terms of money not spent at the end of the project. It was based on the analysis of documents, interviews with finance and project managers, and the financial report generated at the end of project execution that led to this conclusion. Therefore, the project was ultimately able to execute its entire budget. On the subject of project efficiency, the beneficiaries were asked to indicate whether the resources invested had been used in an efficient manner to produce the planned results. The project was viewed as beneficial in all circumstances (Sundqvis, 2019). In the interviews and surveys, it was reported that the funds had been used prudently. The formal procedures were followed in expanding the budget, and that the execution was based on each activity line.
The interviews, surveys, and records further revealed that the flow of financial information between the different Doha city governments, who were the funding entity, and the FQ team implementing the project was easy and straight. The project manager and his team had no difficulty in accessing the funds each time they requested for money to be released (Mannan et al., 2019). This necessitated ease of executing planned activities improved the efficiency of implementation, which led to the prudent management of finances.
Evaluation tools
The tools used to generate data for this evaluation were adequate in content, relevant, and easy to follow. There were no challenges witnessed with any tool during the data collection process. The instructions were clear, simple, and well understood by the respondents or participants. All the tools covered what the evaluation team set to generate for the purposes of this assessment. The evaluation team was satisfied with the responses generated that indeed reflected largely on the accuracy of the tools used. Beneficiary interviews and questionnaires that were done revealed that they considered the tools useful and were satisfied with the quality of the substantive content presented in the form of questions. Beneficiaries highly rated the quality and analytical rigor of the interview and survey questions.
Coordination from Stakeholders
The partnerships between different stakeholders during the implementation phase were highly satisfactory. The Doha city authority, who was the funding entity, played their part well and gave the implementing firm QF an easy time. On their part as the implementing teaming team, the staff of QF led by the project manager were very professional and constantly updated other stakeholders about the project progress on time. QF team arranged for regular meetings with other partners and gave weekly progress reports to key stakeholders every week. The management and staff of schools and hospitals where the project was being implemented also played their part well by providing information and services required during the implementation phase. Staff from both QF, schools, and hospitals were asked how they rated the coordination among different stakeholders. 98.8% of the respondents said that the coordination was very good. Only 1.2% of the participants said the coordination was poor; this was the same case with the interviews where the perceptions about coordination were excellently positive.
Impact of the Project
This project had an immediate impact on the beneficiaries, who were the schools and hospitals that it was piloted. They reported about 70% and 68% reduction in the overhead costs incurred from using electricity each month. This translated into huge savings from the 10 schools and 10 health facilities that were part of the pilot phase. From the survey results, there was 100% agreement by both the staff of the schools and hospitals who participated in the survey that indeed their institutions realized huge savings. The interviews from other stakeholders in these institutions also confirmed a massive decline in electric utility costs. The beneficiaries also witnessed a reduction in power outrages because the solar panel installations had the capacitors to store power. This eliminated the tendencies of power going off for some time in the course of the day, providing them with stability and assurance at their workstations.
Currently, the use of solar power in Qatar is becoming common as huge demands of electricity from various commercial industries and the growing economy of the country are at their peak. Many Qatari companies, organizations, environmental groups, and even government institutions are now exhausting every possible means to increase solar power as the mainstay source of electricity. It is environmentally friendly than other traditional producing power; it minimizes the negative impact on the environment because it reduces the use of coal and other fossil fuel in generating electricity (Karama, 2020). Its impact on the environment cannot be realized immediately by the funding entity that is Doha city, however, with the huge success in its pilot implementation, there are signs that this will be achieved.
Doha city is projecting that the successful implementation of this solar pilot project, and based on the findings of the positive results from the evaluation, they will roll out the solar electricity project in the whole city (Onat et al., 2019). They envisage a prospect of generating more power which will give the city power independence and be able to sell the excess to companies, businesses, and other organizations and generate revenue. The city management anticipates that the success of this pilot project will enable it to sign an agreement with Kahramaa, the body in charge of power generation and distribution (Kawamoto & Guo, 2018). To allow Doha city venture in commercial solar energy generation and sell to Kahramaa for distributions across the country.
The effects of the successful implementation of this pilot solar installation are already being felt even before its impact is fully realized. Several organizations are sending their technical teams and consultants to QF to inquire and familiarize themselves with how the project was implemented. Many aspects of the project, such as low financial cost, efficiency and effectiveness of its outcomes, and ease of maintenance, are attractive to firms. Doha city, which funded this project, is also receiving inquiries from different organizations. This was confirmed during interviews with heads of these institutions, an indication of how the successful completion of the pilot created an immediate impact on the surrounding communities and organizations.
Sustainability of the Project
The project implementation team, the other key stakeholders agreed that the project was ambitious but also that it could be sustained and even used as a stepping stone to launch even massive projects. The direct beneficiaries and QF staff who implemented the project pointed out that it is not expensive to set up and the services needed to maintain it are cheap in terms of costs that would be incurred. The stakeholders also agreed that with proper cooperation, coordination, and mutual understanding among partners, through clear communication, the project will not have any hitches.
Doha city management informed the evaluation team during the interview that they carried out their internal audit on the project funding, costs required to maintain the project and realized it is highly sustainable. They even confirmed that replicating it on a large is scale would even be much easier if they followed the same methods or even modified them better. Further, the staff from both the schools and hospitals where the project was implemented confirmed through survey responses that documentation and usage manual provided by the QF were detailed. The manuals, according to 96.7% of the respondents, were self-explanatory and gave them insights on how to manage the systems on their own without relying much on the technical team from QF.
Lessons Learned from the Project
The stakeholders of this realized that proper coordination and communication are key to the success of any project. The transparency, openness, and collaboration from all partners in the project enabled prudent and efficient management and utilization of resources, particularly the funds. Another important lesson was that when a project’s planning and all other designs are defined properly, explicitly well, and all processes linked during the design or inception phases of the project. The project’s goals are well served by the strong connections between activities and outcomes (Al-Marri et al., 2018). The key to more effective implementation actions is a better inception phase, when activities are better defined, prioritized, and connected together.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The project was highly effective and efficient to Doha city, the funding entity, in terms of money spent, value for money, ease of implementation, and sustainability in the future. It was relevant to the city government as far as its efforts in reducing environmental problems associated with non-renewable energy are concerned and the city’s moving towards relying on green energy. The project had a direct effect on the people it was intended to help, who were the schools and hospitals that it was piloted. These institutions realized an immediate reduction in overhead costs and utility bills incurred from power usage. The pilot implementing institutions also felt the impact of the project because the power supply to their schools and hospitals was stabilised immediately after the project was completed and commissioned.
The partnerships, collaborations, communications, and coordination among different stakeholders during the implementation phase were highly satisfactory. This excellent level of cooperation was transmitted directly through the actions of partners and was reflected in the successful outcome of the project. On the technical assistance offered to the beneficiaries of the project, there was a high level of satisfaction on how the QF team assisted the schools and hospitals in understanding details about how the system works.
Some aspects that may have improved sustainability were not captured at the design stage, which hindered the implementation team from testing or trying if it was feasible to roll it out on a large scale. In the future, if such projects or similar ones are carried out, the project team and stakeholders should incorporate sustainability components at the design stages. This is the best way to project how a project could behave when rolled out on a large scale. Future projects of this magnitude or more should include or incorporate the organizational culture of institutions, structure, and processes, existing human resource skills and personnel, and make adjustments where necessary to aid sustainability.
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