Kuwait has launched its first renewable energy project. 

Kuwait’s Central Tenders Committee has issued a request for qualification to potential bidders for the engineering, procurement, construction, operation and maintenance of a combined solar and wind project called Shagaya.

The project will be a multi-technology power park consisting of 50 megawatts of concentrated solar power parabolic trough technology equipped with a thermal energy storage system, 10 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity and 10 megawatts of wind capacity.

The project is the first phase of a Shagaya renewable energy master plan. The aim of the first phase is to enable Kuwait to assess the performance of different renewable technologies, including concentrated solar power, photovoltaic and wind, under the local climate conditions and to conduct technical and economic feasibility and cost benefit analyses for large-scale deployment of each technology in Kuwait.

The final target of the renewable energy capacity for the power park under the master plan is 2,000 megawatts to be implemented in two further phases.

The last two phases are expected to be executed under a form of public-private partnership that will be structured at a later stage through dedicated government bodies in Kuwait.

by Keith Martin