China to build large solar power plant in Kuwait

• Contract for Shagaya complex
• 26% renewables by 2028
• Construction to start this year

China has won a contract to build a large solar power park at the Shagaya renewable energy complex in the heart of the Kuwaiti desert.

The facility will allow the Gulf state to increase renewables’ share of its energy mix to more than a quarter, a Kuwaiti minister said.

The unnamed Chinese government company has been awarded phases 3 and 4 of the Shagaya project, which will generate 4,800 megawatts of electricity by 2028. Construction should start this year.

“A representative of the Chinese government company has just arrived in Kuwait and will shortly visit the Shagaya site,” said Subaih Al Mukhaizeem, Kuwait’s minister of electricity, water and renewable energy.

The minister told a local energy forum at the weekend that the completed Shagaya complex would raise renewables’ share to 26-27 percent by 2028, adding that Kuwait has set a target of 50 percent by 2050.

“The Chinese company will start working on the project after all technical arrangements are completed.

“We expect these measures to be completed this year,” he told the meeting, according to reports in the Kuwaiti press on Sunday.

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In March, Kuwait and China signed a framework agreement for co-operation in renewable energy and solar technology.

Kuwaiti officials said the deal was finalised after six months of negotiations.

The Shagaya project, spanning nearly 84 square kilometres, is approximately 100km west of the capital Kuwait City and incorporates multiple renewable technologies and grid infrastructure.