"Solar energy in Kuwait is promising and various projects will benefit from it," said Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Electricity and Water, Meshaan Al-Otaibi. Otaibi did reveal the intended capacity of the plant. "The state hopes to provide 5 percent of its energy requirement through such technology by the year 2020," he added.

Kuwait, an OPEC member and the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, has one of the highest power consumption rates per capita in the world. Despite sitting on 104 billion barrels of proven oil reserves (or roughly 8% of the world's total oil reserves), the gulf state experiences frequent power cuts, especially during the hot summer months when air conditioning use rises, due to rising energy demand. As a result, the Kuwati government has announced that it plans to boost power capacity from 10 GW to around 16 GW by 2012.

In February, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah told daily newspaper Al-Watan that the country was considering developing nuclear power with the help of a French firm to meet demand for electricity and water desalination. Kuwait, which has six power stations that also desalinate water, signed a $2.65 billion deal last month with General Electric Co and Hyundai Heavy Industries to build and operate the 2-GW Subbiya power plant in the north of the country.

Time will tell how the gulf state will meet this new renewable energy target, especially as parliament and the government often disagree. Energy expansion plans have already been derailed as major contracts have been scrapped or delayed such as a $17.4 billion petrochemical joint venture with Dow Chemical, which was cancelled in December just a month after it was approved because of criticism in parliament. Parliament, which has a history of challenging the government, has to approve major business deals.

For additional information:

Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity and Water