Qatar, one of the richest countries in the Middle East thanks to its massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and oil reserves, plans to build a floating eco-hotel that would spin very slowly—like a record—to generate its own electricity via solar, wind, and tidal energy.

The Eco-Floating Hotel is designed by Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio (HAADS) and will have 152 rooms. The hotel will produce clean energy and have zero waste, according to the designs.

The hotel will feature vawtaus, or vertical axis wind turbines and umbrellas, which will also function as umbrellas on the coastal band of the doughnut-shaped hotel. Each vawtau module will be capable of generating 25 kilowatts (kW) of electricity, and 55 such modules are planned. The glass roof will collect rainwater.

According to the design studio HAADS, as carried by New Atlas, the plan is just in its concept phase. Technical and feasibility studies are currently underway, and the designers hope to realize the blueprints by 2025.

This is not the first floating hotel project in Qatar, but it is certainly the most luxurious hotel project yet.

Early in 2020, alternative real estate company ADMARES said it would deliver 16 energy sustainable floating hotels to Qatar in time for FIFA World Cup in 2022, which the tiny Gulf nation will host beginning in November 2022. The floating hotels, expected to host fans for the tournament, will be located near Qetaifan Island North.

Qetaifan Projects and ADMARES plan to embed sustainable solutions with minimum ecological impact by having the hotels run on solar energy.

“This is the first time ever that pure floating real estate has been used as a temporary solution for accommodation needs at this scale. These hotels do not require major ports and deep water as their draft is significantly less than large cruise ships,” Mikael Hedberg, chief executive officer of ADMARES, said in a statement at the time.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com