Kuwait

Kuwait is one of the largest oil-producing countries in the Middle Eastern region, also generates electricity through the non-renewable source of energy, but from the past few years, the Ministry of Electricity and Water is focusing on renewable sources of energy for electricity generation. In 2021, the Ministry included 16 renewable energy projects in its plan to introduce RE projects with the vision to produce alternative energy technology to obtain electricity from its sustainable sources so that it contributes to the production of between 4.5 GW and 5 GW of the total energy produced in the State of Kuwait by 2030, as the country wants to achieve at least 15 percent of the total energy produced by 2025. The country installed its first Solar PV project of 10 MW named Sidrah 500 at the UMM Gudair Oilfield with an investment of $100 million in 2016, 50% of the generation will be connected into the grid, while the rest is to be used at the oilfield. Cumulative Solar PV Installed Capacity in Kuwait

Yearly Solar PV Installations in Kuwait

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The installed solar PV capacity in the country now stands at around 90 MW by 2020 (Solar PV & CSP), even though the installation in 2020 was nil, the country has positive plans to add solar PV capacity in the country. Kuwait National Petroleum Company received bids for 1.5 GW Al-Dibdibah Solar projects in 2019, where China’s Metallurgical Corporation submitting the lowest bid of 11.2 fils/kWh, ahead of the local (Kuwait) Al-Mulla Group which was been canceled. Now in 2021, Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) a public-private company will again tender the project.

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Under Phase, I of the Shagaya project, 70 MW of renewable energy capacity, 50 MW CSP solar, and 10 MW of both Solar PV and Wind, have already been installed. This 1.5 GW is the planned Phase ll, which was planned to have almost 4-5 GW of renewable energy capacities by 2030, Phase lll is a plan to have 2 GW capacity.

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Future Planned Solar PV Projects in Kuwait

Location Capacity (MW)

Sabhan Al-Zour Station Sabiya Station Sabiya Station Sabhan DohaComplex Shuwaikh Water Complex Mutla’a Residential 3.7 4 3 30 4.6 10 17 52

Hawalli Water Complex Sabhan Administrative Buildings Al-Zour Station 10 6.75 2

Sabiya Station Mutla Chemical Works Building Administrative Buildings in Several Locations Al- Shygaya Ground Water Tanks

2 0.7 3.46 270

PV panels, CSP, levels, and Wind Projects across the countries

2430 Source: Ministry of Electricity and Water, Kuwait EQ iSearch The ministry’s plan the important projects of photovoltaic panels on the roofs of 6 story buildings in Subhan with a production capacity of 3.7 MW, photovoltaic panels on the canopies of cars and buildings in Al-Zour power station with a combined capacity of 4 MW, as well as a project of photovoltaic panels on car sheds and buildings in Al-Subbiya with combined capacity of 3 MW. The important projects are the photovoltaic panel's project on the groundwater tanks at the Subbiya station with an installed capacity of 30 MW, the project of supplying, installing, and operating the photovoltaic panels on car canopies with an installed capacity of 4.6 MW, the peak in Sabhan, the photovoltaic panels project on the groundwater tanks in the Doha complex with an installed capacity of 10 MW. Kuwait currently doesn’t have any policy and regulation for renewable energy which got expired in 2017, which is forcing foreign investors to enter into any project development, also the cancellation and again re-tendering of 1.5 GW Solar PV projects will pull back the further growth in the renewable sector.