Kuwait eyes 14GW power capacity by 2041

Nearly 7.5GW of the 14GW it needs over the next 20 years will come through new partnerships

Kuwait plans to drastically ramp up its power generation capacity to 14GW by 2021 to address current and future demand.

The country is hoping to attract outside investors to fund several power projects under a publicprivate partnership programme that will cover more than half of its future electricity needs over the next two decades, a government official said.

About 7,500 megawatts (MW) of the 14,000 MW it needs over the next 20 years will come through these partnerships, which industry sources say will require investments of billions of dollars.

“Energy projects are priority projects, and the state is moving forward towards their implementation,” Fadheela A. al-Hassan, who was appointed head of the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects in April, said.“There is a desire to rush such projects,”

The projects under the publicprivate partnership (PPP) umbrella include the Al-Zour 2 & 3 plant, which has a capacity of 2,700 MW; Al-Khiran, with 1,800 MW of capacity; and Al-Shaqaya and Al-Debdiba, with a combined capacity of 3,000 MW, the authority said.

The PPP programme in Kuwait is based on the creation of public shareholding companies that carry out projects managed by a strategic partner, and the goods and services produced are purchased by the government.

According to the law, 50% of the shares of these companies is allocated to citizens, while between 26% and 44% is allocated to a Kuwaiti or foreign strategic investor, and the government owns the rest.

Kuwait’s electricity capacity is estimated at 17,000 MW, and about 14,000 MW are scheduled to be added over the next twenty years, according to Kuwaiti media.

Al-Hassan expects the “financial closing” of the Al-Debdiba and Al-Shaqaya project will be in 2026, including the awarding of strategic investors and the establishment of project companies.