Kuwait's MEW plans eight power plants to produce 17,300 MW of electricity

KUWAIT CITY: A report issued by the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy revealed a plan that includes the establishment of eight future plants to produce 17,300 megawatts to ensure the country’s needs of electricity and water in the face of the “Kuwait 2035” Vision and the increasing demand, which is expected to reach 30,000 megawatts during the next 15 years.

The report, a copy of which has been obtained by the Al-Seyassah daily, clarified that the ministry has begun to raise the production of electrical energy in anticipation of the expected rise in demand during the coming years by building new stations, pointing out that these accelerated steps come as a result of the construction and expansion of new residential cities.

Combined

The report indicated the plants operating under the combined cycle system will constitute 61 percent of the total electricity generation capacity in 2035, while the steam-operated stations will constitute about 19 percent, and these stations using oil and gas to generate power.

The report pointed out that renewable energy projects is vital in the ministry’s future, especially in light of the government’s desire to generate 15 percent of the total energy demand from renewable energy by 2035, as there is a plan to launch eight future power plants with a generating capacity of 17.3 thousand megawatts, including the North and South Az-Zour station, Doha, Sharqiya, Al Khairan, Nuwaiseeb, Al Subbiya, Al Shaqaya, and Al Shuaiba South.

The report indicated that there are projects being implemented, others that the ministry is preparing to offer, and a third that will be put forward through the Public- Private Partnership Projects Authority, so that the ministry will be able to supply the housing cities that are being implemented and others to be implemented in the future, especially the islands development project, with the needed electricity and water.

The report stated at the beginning of this year, the Public- Private Partnership Projects Authority announced the third phase of the Shaqaya Complex for Renewable Energy Project, which is one of the projects submitted by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.

It is an integrated project to produce renewable energy with no less than 2,000 megawatts through solar power, photovoltaic panels, and concentrated thermal energy. By Mohamed Ghanem Al-Seyassah, Arab Times Staff