‘UN official praises Kuwaiti achievements at all levels’

Kuwait eyes 15 pct solar-sourced power by 2030

NEW YORK, Sept 25, (KUNA): Kuwaiti Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and State Minister for Economic Affairs Hind Al-Sabeeh Tuesday said that UN Deputy SecretaryGeneral Amina Mohammad praised Kuwaiti achievements at all levels.

Al-Sabeeh told KUNA after a meeting with UN Deputy Secretary-General that the two sides discussed promoting cooperation and coordination to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The UN official hailed Kuwait’ pursuit to achieve SDGs and has shown willingness to cooperate and provide best expertise to implement current and future projects, Al-Sabeeh stated.

The two sides reviewed the achievements of Kuwait to achieve SDGs, in addition to linking these goals to the seve pillars of the development plan, calling for intensified efforts by the UN to support the implementation of these objectives, she added.

Government’s pursuit of these goals will be reflected in economic prosperity and growth, the Minister noted.

At the end of the meeting, AlSabeeh invited the UN Deputy Secretary-General to visit Kuwait to push forward international cooperation and to witness first-hand the development in Kuwait.

Kuwait plans to lessen its dependency on oil for power generation, ensuring 15 percent of its domestic needs come from renewables by 2030, in implementation of His Highness the Amir’s diversification strategy, an oil ministry official said on Tuesday.

Great importance has been attached to these plans, Acting Oil Ministry Undersecretary Sheikh Talal Nasser Al-Sabah told reporters, citing solar power as the prime source.

“Solar power production is not merely aimed at searching for a substitute to oil or preparing for the post-oil era, as much as it is a global direction to reduce energy production costs,” he explained.

The move will do much to assist the country in covering ever-increasing local demand, particularly with Kuwait having one of the highest rates of power consumption per capita in the world.

The country aims to follow in the footsteps of nations who have adopted renewable production technologies in order to reap the biggest benefits from the move, said the acting undersecretary.

One of the projects, currently under development, will provide up to 1,500 megawatts of power generated by solar energy, according to an expert.

The huge Al-Debdeba renewable energy power plant project is due to be operational by the 2020-21 third quarter, said Majed Al-Rasheedi, scientist at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR).

The feasibility of the plan will also see carbon monoxide emissions in the country decreased by around 1.3 million tonnes, he added. (end)