Kuwait City— Kuwait is negotiating plans for a major battery storage project with a discharge capacity of up to 1.5 gigawatts and total storage between 4 and 6 gigawatt-hours, as part of efforts to tackle the Gulf state’s growing electricity shortages, a senior energy official said on Monday.
The project, still in the negotiation phase, aims to stabilize Kuwait’s national grid and cut its dependence on fossil fuels during peak demand, said Adel Al Zamil from the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy. “The picture is becoming clearer and we may soon have an outcome,” he told reporters, without naming potential partners.
Kuwait, a major OPEC oil producer, has faced recurring power shortages in recent years amid rapid population growth, rising temperatures, and delays in plant maintenance. Authorities have implemented planned power cuts across several areas since last year to manage demand.
If approved, the storage project would become one of the largest in the Middle East, supporting Kuwait’s long-term energy transition goals. The initiative aligns with the country’s strategy to integrate renewable energy sources and enhance grid reliability.
Al Zamil said progress is also expected on two major power developments, the Al Khairan plant and the Shagaya renewable energy project, with a combined planned capacity of about 2.9 gigawatts. Both are expected to be awarded in the second half of 2026.
The Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) invited bids in September for Phase 1 of Al Khairan, which will add at least 1.8 gigawatts, while the first phase of Shagaya, with a capacity of 1,100 megawatts, has completed pre-qualification.
Kuwait’s latest energy initiatives reflect a regional shift toward grid-scale battery systems, a technology increasingly used by Gulf countries to balance renewable power generation and reduce dependence on conventional thermal plants during peak summer demand.
