The government of Kuwait has launched a tender for solar projects with a total capacity of 1.1GW, to be installed at its Al Shagaya Renewable Energy facility in the west of Kuwait City.
The Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) and the country’s Ministry of Electricity & Water & Renewable Energy launched the request for qualification this week, the third phase of development at the Al Shagaya facility.
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While the government bodies did not specify whether the tender would take the form of a single large project, or be open to multiple smaller projects with a number of investors, they noted that successful projects would enter into a 30-year power purchase agreement with the ministry to acquire electricity produced at the project.
The bodies also noted that applications would be welcomed from companies with experience in utility-scale solar development, with their criteria for successful applications including having developed a minimum of two solar independent power producers with a net power output of at least 200MW.
The facility is set to be a cornerstone of Kuwait’s clean energy plan, with the government aiming to meet 15% of its energy demand with renewables by 2030. However, Kuwait met just 0.3% of its electricity demand with renewables as of 2022, according to a government report, and the successful commissioning of the Al Shaaya project could help accelerate this transition.
The government expects the facility to have a total power capacity of 2GW, and include solar PV, concentrated solar and wind power, and the latest tender round will account for more than half of this total capacity.
The move is the latest development in the Middle East solar sector, which has attracted significant investment in recent years. Last year, ACWA Power and the Saudi Public Investment Fund announced plans to develop a 4.5GW solar portfolio in the country, and in the first half of the year, LONGi shipped over 1GW of modules to the region.