2MW solar energy projects completed: PAAET
Station will contribute to energy savings, greenhouse gas reductions
KUWAIT CITY, Sept 12: In ambitious steps towards attaining sustainable campuses, The Public Authority of Applied Education & Training (PAAET) on Tuesday announced the completion of the Solar Energy Station project, designed to generate nearly two megawatts of solar power. The project had encompassed the installation of solar panels distributed across the rooftops of twenty-five buildings at the existing Basic Education College (BEC) in Al-Ardiya area, which will cater to approximately 20% of the total power demand of the campus during the day time, complying with all the local authority guidelines.
PAAET’s General Manager, Mohammed Al-Athari, stated: “The state–of–the–art design of the gridtied solar energy plant pioneers as one of the largest solar energy installations on any state owned building across the state of Kuwait to date, covering a roof surface area of about 18,000 m2. The project will also contribute to energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions by the campus ultimately taking it closer to being a sustainable campus”.
Pace — the leading Kuwaiti architectural, engineering and planning consultants in the region — were commissioned by PAAET to undertake the design, engineering and supervision of the project in collaboration with M/s ECOFYS Netherlands. The contractor designed and installed the photovoltaic system, selected the most appropriate photovoltaic equipment, and made all necessary modifications to the existing power plant to connect the PV system to the MEW grid.
Pace CEO, Tarek Shuaib, said: “The Solar Energy Station project is also intended to be of educational interest to the students of the campus as it will provide an opportunity to use the campus as a living laboratory. The installation is now tied into the power grid, with a web based energy monitoring system. Students will now be able to compare realtime data on electricity production of the solar-PV plant, view comparative analytics, and export data for various analysis projects”.
Given how the State of Kuwait enjoys an average of 6-9 hours of solar radiation per day throughout the year, and since most colleges and educational institutions operate only during the day, Ahmed Al-Athari pointed out that their vast rooftop areas should be utilized for more solar power generation, thereby transforming buildings into sustainable power sources.