The Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy in Kuwait is anticipated to initiate the issuance of Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) for the upcoming stages of the Al Shaqaya Renewable Energy Project (SREP) by the year’s end.
The ambitious SREP aims to achieve a capacity of 4,500 MW. The initial phase encompasses an independent solar photovoltaic energy production project with a capacity of 1,100 MW, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The request for quotations for this phase is expected to be issued within the next two to three months. The subsequent phase will introduce a 200 MW concentrated solar power plant with a storage capacity of around 5 hours, with the ministry already in the process of preparing the request for proposals for this stage.
According to Ghannam Al-Ajmi, the Renewable Energy Project Engineer at MEWRE, requests for quotations for various phases of the project will be sequentially launched later this year. It is projected that all phases will be connected to the grid by the years 2027-2028.
The third phase will feature a 1,500 MW Independent Power Producer (IPPP) solar project, followed by a final phase of a 1,700 MW IPPP solar project. Requests for proposals for certain projects are slated to be issued by mid-next year.
Additionally, Kuwait’s government plans to implement a distributed solar energy scheme, aligning with its target for renewables to constitute 15 percent of the electricity production mix by 2030. This includes rooftop solar projects with capacities of up to 5 MW, along with medium-range projects ranging from 10 million to 150 megawatts.
Furthermore, the ministry is exploring battery energy storage technologies and potential regulatory measures to facilitate solar adoption.
In August last year, a team led by London-based consultancy EY secured a transaction advisory contract for Kuwait’s renewable energy program. The selected developers for the SREP project will enter into power purchase agreements with the Ministry of Electricity for up to 25 years from the project’s commercial operation date. However, wind farms are currently not part of the ministry’s plans.
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