Kuwait eyes solar to replace oil

Kuwait Solar Project

Kuwait is well known for its oil, which unfortunately means it is heavily reliant on this one commodity for revenue. The need to diversify is more apparent then ever, but there is also no better time than the present for Kuwait to explore alternative sources of energy.

Therefore Saad Al-Showeib, the Managing Director of state-owned hydrocarbon firm KPC, announced this week that the country will be considering the use of solar energy as an alternative to oil to produce energy.

The announcement was made at the International Conference for Alternative Energy Applications held at Marriott Courtyard hotel.

$150 million donation

Chairman of Kuwait Engineers Society Talal Al-Qahtani delivered the opening speech and pointed out that Kuwait has always been a pioneer in supporting all international initiatives that downscale the negative effects of energy on the people and environment.

With regard to this, Al-Qahtani mentioned the Amir's proposal to donate US$150 million to support energy research.

The conference was attended by hundreds of scientists from 75 participating countries, who gathered to discuss energy and environmental issues and present their findings to decision-makers and politicians from Kuwait and the rest of the world.

Boost Middle East productivity

Interest is rapidly gathering around the the Middle East region's renewable energy potential, especially solar power. There is plenty of buzz at the moment surrounding the idea of huge solar farms across the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa, as it becomes clear there is a great deal of money to be made in the renewable energy market.

Kuwait is hoping to boost renewable energy productivity in the Gulf region, and this conference was a huge step in the right direction.

There is a genuine possibility that one day, solar power could replace oil as the regions largest energy export.

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