Kuwait’s government in August approved the construction of several power plants and desalination facilities to boost its capacity by 3,580 MW.
Like its oil- and gas-rich neighbors in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, Kuwait is seeing a power shortage owing to its growing population and economy. With only five power plants, the country has experienced disruptive blackouts. This February, for example, a blackout shut off the lights in most of the country when a failed cable caused the 1.8-GW Subbiya plant to trip.
Plans approved in August include a second 1.8-GW phase for the gas-fired Az-Zour North integrated water and power plant; the first 1.5-GW phase of the oil- and gas-fired Khairan power plant; and the 280-MW Al Abdaliyah hybrid power plant, of which 60 MW will be from solar and the rest from gas. However, the government did not set a timeline for when the plants should come online.
Also like its neighbors, Kuwait is looking to boost its renewable capacity. To achieve targets to generate 15% of its energy by 2030 with solar, it will put up to 100 solar facilities online. Plans include completing a 70-MW solar project in the Shagaya desert zone west of Kuwait City by next year.
—Sonal Patel is a POWER associate editor.