4 THE RISE OF RENEWABLES IN THE GULF STATES …
101
Kuwait
Kuwait has set one overarching renewables target, looking to develop
enough capacity to supply 15% of consumption by 2030. All credible
short-term plans are focused on the 1500 MWp solar PV plant set to
be built at Al Dibdibah as part of the Shagaya Phase II development.
Unlike some of its neighbors, Kuwait has not taken steps to create separate institutions charged with developing its renewable energy strategy,
and the Shagaya project is owned by the Kuwait National Petroleum
Company. This may be a realistic reflection of the limits of the state’s
institutional capacity to establish a new entity capable of overseeing such
a large capital deployment within the timeframe set of 2021. After a
further sustained decline in oil prices following the Covid-19 pandemic,
the Kuwaiti cabinet announced in July the cancellation of the 5 main
outstanding tenders for the Shagaya Phase II project, casting doubt on
the country’s ability to make progress towards meeting the overarching
targets in the near-term.
Oman
Oman’s overarching renewables target is to supply 10% of electricity
generation by 2025. An ambitious but manageable goal, as the 800
MWp of capacity categorized as part of their credible short-term plans in
Table 4.2, would go a long way toward achieving this target (800 MWp
would represent more than 10% of Oman’s generation capacity today,
although this is offset by the renewables’ lower capacity factor). 25 Unlike
Kuwait, which also has significant wind resources, Oman is choosing to
undertake a diverse development strategy; 200 MWp of wind is set to be
developed in Dhofar, with the EPC contract for the first 50 MWp already
awarded. The remaining 600 MWp will be developed through two large
PV plants.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia revised its main renewables target upwards at the start of
2019, aiming to develop 27.3 GWp of renewables by 2024 (up from 9.5
GWp), and 58.7 GWp by 2030. 26 The 27.3 GWp figure would represent almost a third of projected capacity in 2023. These are by far the
most ambitious targets set in the region, and observers have received
101
Kuwait
Kuwait has set one overarching renewables target, looking to develop
enough capacity to supply 15% of consumption by 2030. All credible
short-term plans are focused on the 1500 MWp solar PV plant set to
be built at Al Dibdibah as part of the Shagaya Phase II development.
Unlike some of its neighbors, Kuwait has not taken steps to create separate institutions charged with developing its renewable energy strategy,
and the Shagaya project is owned by the Kuwait National Petroleum
Company. This may be a realistic reflection of the limits of the state’s
institutional capacity to establish a new entity capable of overseeing such
a large capital deployment within the timeframe set of 2021. After a
further sustained decline in oil prices following the Covid-19 pandemic,
the Kuwaiti cabinet announced in July the cancellation of the 5 main
outstanding tenders for the Shagaya Phase II project, casting doubt on
the country’s ability to make progress towards meeting the overarching
targets in the near-term.
Oman
Oman’s overarching renewables target is to supply 10% of electricity
generation by 2025. An ambitious but manageable goal, as the 800
MWp of capacity categorized as part of their credible short-term plans in
Table 4.2, would go a long way toward achieving this target (800 MWp
would represent more than 10% of Oman’s generation capacity today,
although this is offset by the renewables’ lower capacity factor). 25 Unlike
Kuwait, which also has significant wind resources, Oman is choosing to
undertake a diverse development strategy; 200 MWp of wind is set to be
developed in Dhofar, with the EPC contract for the first 50 MWp already
awarded. The remaining 600 MWp will be developed through two large
PV plants.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia revised its main renewables target upwards at the start of
2019, aiming to develop 27.3 GWp of renewables by 2024 (up from 9.5
GWp), and 58.7 GWp by 2030. 26 The 27.3 GWp figure would represent almost a third of projected capacity in 2023. These are by far the
most ambitious targets set in the region, and observers have received