Al-Shagaya renewable energy project ‘a go’
KISR team meets Amir, Crown Prince
KUWAIT: Director General of Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) Dr Sameera Al-Sayyed Omar indicated yesterday that the ambitious AlShagaya Project for renewable energy has begun building a solar power station and a wind power station to be ostensibly completed toward the year’s end.
Dr Omar revealed that in a press statement after having met today with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah along with Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Dr Bader Hamad Al-Essa.
She thanked His Highness the Amir for his support of the Al-Shagaya Project and for having taken under his care the 6th Middle East and North Africa Renewable Energy Conference (MENAREC 6) which was held in Kuwait in April. She also thanked His Highness the Crown Prince for his interest in the Project.
Al-Shagaya Project is part of the Innovative Renewable Energy Research program at KISR, which, when completed, will be comprised of three main facilities, a concentrated solar power plant and two facilities for wind and PV research.
In a similar press statement, Dr Salem Al-Hajraf, Manager of KISR’s Renewable Energy Program, said that a number of recommendations emanated from (MENAREC 6) urging governments to rely less on oil to produce electricity and more on solar and wind power. The recommendations also advised that at least 15 percent of energy should be produced from renewable sources by the year 2030, he said. Dr Omar, Hajraf and other KISR teammates explained in their meeting with His Highness the Amir the upcoming second stage in the AlShagaya Project which will involve offering the private sector the opportunity to invest in a 500 megawatt renewable energy power stations. These stations will be built through a partnership between the public and private sectors. Also attending the meeting with His Highness the Amir was Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah and members of KISR. Minister Essa, Dr Omar and the KISR team also met with His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah and briefed him about the document.