Kuwait’s power and water desalination plans call for electricity generation capacity to be raised by almost 15,000MW in the next 10 years, the MEED Kuwait Energy & Water Efficiency Conference was told today (see table).
This compares with present installed capacity of 14,631MW and projected peak power demand of 13,000MW this summer.
Figures contained in a presentation by Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW) advisor Mike Wood showed water desalination capacity will also be increased in the same period by 567m gallons a day (g/d). Kuwait’s present capacity is 528m g/d.
The power and water desalination expansion programme comprises seven projects being developed by the Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB), the Kuwait government’s private finance agency. These are:
- the four phase Al-Zour North independent water and power plant (IWPP)
- steam power plants at Al-Khairan and Nuwaisab and
- the Abdaliya integrated combined cycle unit.
The programme also includes two open-cycle gas turbine-based power plants each with capacity of 1,000MW that will be procured directly by the MEW. Each will comprise two 500MW phases. A further 500MW in power generation will result from converting half of this capacity to combined-cycle in due course. The MEW programme also includes a 120m g/d RO plant at Doha.
Wood said the decision to start planning for new MEW units was due to delays in Kuwait’s public-private partnership projects (PPPs). These are being procured by the PTB.
“Because of the situation in the delay of PPP process, it has forced MEW to build two open gas cycle projects,” Wood said.
MEW assistant undersecretary for planning and training Meshan al-Otaibi said that the MEW is now planning to procure the 2,500MW Nuwaisab steam power plant through an EPC process. The project was originally included in the PTB programme.
Al-Otaibi said that Law 39 of 2010 would have to be amended to allow the MEW to procure the power station. Law 39 restricts the MEW to building power stations with a maximum capacity of 500MW.
The Kuwait Energy & Water Efficiency Conference is being held in the Jumeirah Messilah Beach hotel in Kuwait City. The conference is supported by the Ministry of Electricity & Water and endorsed by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS).
Drake & Scull and Kimmco are conference sponsors. Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) and Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company are networking sponsors.
| Project | Technology | MW | G/d | Complete |
| PTB | ||||
| Al-Zour NI | Combined cycle gas turbine/MED | 1,500 | 107m | 2015-16 |
| Al Zour NII | Combined cycle gas turbine/thermal desal | 1,500 | 100m | 2017-18 |
| Al Zour NIII &IV | To be announced | 1,800 | 85m | 2020 |
| Al Khairan | Steam power plant/thermal desal | 4,500 | 125m | 2019-21 |
| Nuwaisab I | Steam power plant | 2,500 | 150m | TBA |
| Abdaliya | Integrated solar combined cycle | 280 | 2018 | |
| MEW EPC | ||||
| Subiya I & Al-Zour I | Open-cycle gas turbine | 1,000 | 2015 | |
| Subiya II &III | Open-cycle gas turbine | 1,000 | TBA | |
| Subiya I and Al-Zour 1 | Conversion to CCGT | 500 | TBA | |
| Doha water plant | RO | 120m | 2017-18 | |
| Total | 14,580 | 567m |
Source: Mike Wood, advisor, Ministry of Electricity & Water, 3 June 2014