Kuwait explores renewable energy with Austrian company
Kuwait's agreement with Burgenland Energie reinforces country's willingness to explore foreign partnerships to develop its nascent clean energy sector.
Austrian company Burgenland Energie and Kuwait's ambassador to the EU nation signed a framework agreement on Friday to explore renewable energy development in the OPEC country.
Kuwait is interested in "exploring different energy sources," Talal al-Fassam, the country's ambassador to the EU, told the state-run Kuwait News Agency following the signing.
No further details on the scope and size of potential projects were available. Contacted by Al-Monitor, the media representative for Burgenland Energie was not available for comment.
Nascent energy transition
Kuwait accounts for 5.9% of global oil reserves, according to the latest Statistical Review of Energy, and is OPEC's fifth-largest producer. The country's output in July was 2.415 million barrels per day, according to OPEC secondary sources.
The Gulf country remains a laggard in energy transition efforts in the Gulf, with the Shagaya project comprising 50 megawatts of concentrated solar and 10 megawatts each of wind and photovoltaic energy. It is the only renewable scheme installed so far in the country.
Kuwait, which plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, tendered a 1.1 gigawatt solar energy project in January. The project is set to be located in Al-Jahra, close to Kuwait City.
New hydrocarbon finds
Kuwait plans to raise renewable electricity generation to 15% of the overall energy mix by 2030. However, despite its recent efforts, oil remains dominant. The country announced the discovery of 2.1 billion barrels of light oil and 5.1 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas on July 14. It also plans to raise oil production capacity to 4 million barrels per day by 2035.
Kuwait, which has more of a democratic parliamentary process compared to its Gulf peers, has been traditionally averse to foreign investment in energy.
However, following the dissolution of the country's parliament on May 10 and that of certain constitutional articles by its new emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, the country is likely to see less hindrance to foreign investment in energy.
