Kuwait Eyes Large-Scale Battery Storage to Ease Power Crisis

Kuwait is negotiating a major battery storage project with a discharge capacity of up to 1.5 gigawatts and total energy storage of between 4 and 6 gigawatt-hours, in a bid to ease chronic power shortages, a senior electricity ministry official said on Monday.

The GCC state, a major oil producer and OPEC member, has been grappling with severe electricity shortages driven by rapid population growth, urban expansion, rising temperatures and delays in plant maintenance.

The strain has forced authorities to impose planned power cuts in some areas since last year.

"It is still in the negotiation phase ... the picture is becoming clearer and we may soon have an outcome from it," Adel Al-Zamil told reporters, refusing to specify the parties with whom negotiations are taking place.

The battery storage initiative is part of a broader push to stabilise Kuwait's grid and reduce reliance on fossil fuels during peak demand periods. If implemented, it would mark one of the largest energy storage deployments in the region.

Years of political gridlock stalled infrastructure development, but momentum has picked up since Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah dissolved parliament in 2024 for four years, clearing the way for long-delayed projects.

Both the Al-Khairan power plant and the first phase of the Shagaya renewable energy project, with a combined planned capacity of around 2.9 gigawatts, are expected to be awarded in the second half of 2026, Al-Zamil said.

The Public-Private Partnership Authority invited bids in September for the first phase of Al-Khairan, which will contribute at least 1.8 gigawatts. The first phase of Shagaya, with a planned capacity of 1,100 megawatts, has completed its pre-qualification stage.