Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy has received proposals for building a 400 kV overhead transmission line (OHTL). This line will connect the Al Shaqaya Solar Power Generation Station to the Al Wafra (Z) substation.
The project will help carry power generated at the solar site to the national grid. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) submitted the lowest bid. The bid was for KWD 41.45 million, which is equal to around USD 135.2 million.
Kuwait’s Al Shaqaya solar site is part of a broader plan to increase renewable energy. The government plans to generate up to 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity using clean energy by 2030.
One of the early projects is the Shagaya Renewable Energy Park. This park was developed by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR). It includes three types of renewable energy sources.
The first is a 50-megawatt (MW) Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant. It began operating in December 2018. The plant was built by a group of companies from Spain and Kuwait. It is expected to generate 180 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity each year. It covers 250 hectares of land and is estimated to reduce over 81,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
The second part of the project is a 10 MW wind farm, which started running in May 2017. The third is a 10 MW photovoltaic (PV) solar plant.
The full renewable energy park had its official opening in February 2019. The three parts together represent the first phase of the national renewable energy program.
In addition to these larger installations, smaller projects are underway. Some government buildings in Kuwait are being fitted with solar panels to power lights and air conditioning. A few petrol stations have also started using rooftop solar systems to reduce electricity demand.
