Kuwait is planning to implement a pilot programme to install photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on the rooftops of 150 Kuwaiti homes, as part of plans to boost renewable energy.

Speaking at MEED’s Kuwait Energy and Water Efficiency conference in Kuwait City on 3 June, Adnan Shiha-Eldin, director-general of Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), revealed the country’s plans for its first domestic rooftop solar programme.

Shiha-Eldin told the event that parliamentary approval for the scheme was expected soon, and that the first phase of the programme would involve installing PV solar panels on 50 Kuwaiti homes between 2014 and 2016. This is expected to result in a total capacity of 2-3MW of electricity being generated. The budget for the scheme is KD2m ($7.1m), and KFAS is working together with Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (Kisr), the Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW) and the local National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC).