What have been the company’s major highlights in the last few years?

ENGIE has made significant progress in Kuwait over the past few years. We operate through two main business units: ENGIE Thermal & Supply and ENGIE Solutions. Our presence in Kuwait began with the operation of the Az-Zour North Plant, a gas-fired power and water facility, in 2015. This marked our entry into the Kuwaiti market and represented Kuwait’s first Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP). Since then, we have successfully operated the plant, producing 1.5GW of power and 486,000 cubic meters of desalinated water daily.

In addition to our thermal and supply operations, ENGIE Solutions is highly active in Kuwait. Since commencing operations in 2017, we have become the first energy solutions specialist in the country to launch an energy management team that pays for the savings they generate. ENGIE Solutions offers comprehensive facilities management services, which is unique in Kuwait where long-term industrial projects typically involve multiple contractors. We have been awarded contracts for major projects, including a hospital, and have consulted on consortiums for two 25-year PPP projects related to facility management and energy.

As Kuwait aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle high per-capita power consumption, ENGIE Solutions is playing a crucial role. We provide energy efficiency solutions for various facilities in Kuwait, conducting audits and identifying potential savings. So far, we have identified potential savings of 25% and are discussing opportunities for saving 50GWh of electrical consumption per year. By implementing these measures, we can prevent around 30,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to the absorption capacity of 140 square kilometers of forest.

How is ENGIE Solutions contributing to environmentally-friendly national initiatives?

We are fully committed to supporting Kuwait’s initiatives for renewable energy adoption and carbon neutrality. ENGIE Group has a clear purpose: to accelerate the energy transition. We do this through three main approaches: replacing conventional energy with renewables, deploying cooling and heating networks, and saving energy through our energy services. As Kuwait introduces legislation related to renewable energy and diversification, we are well-equipped to rapidly deploy our proven solutions in the country.

To raise awareness about these issues and our solutions, we conduct regular workshops and webinars with Ministries and expert organizations like the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR). Additionally, we offer financing options for our clients to support their projects. By fostering long-term partnerships, we can enable carbon reduction, cost savings, and facilitate the transition of renewable energy investments from capital expenses to operating expenses. For example, we retrofit buildings to make them more digitally advanced and connected, and then earn revenues from the resulting client savings.

What technological solutions does ENGIE provide?

As an accredited energy services company (ESCO), ENGIE Solutions specializes in delivering customized and guaranteed energy efficiency solutions that significantly reduce consumption for our clients. Through our audits conducted in Kuwait, we estimate a minimum potential savings of 80-90% through digitalization and automation. We offer a range of technology-driven solutions in the market.

In addition to providing desalinated water from Az-Zour, we focus on ESCO models, energy performance contracts, and integrated facilities management systems. Our offerings include energy-as-a-service, cooling-as-a-service, and smart building technology utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT). Facilities management is a key area of business growth for us, especially considering that 85% of energy consumed by buildings in Kuwait during summers is attributed to ventilation, air-conditioning, and lighting.

ENGIE Solutions is actively developing solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and IoT to unlock substantial savings. For instance, we utilize predictive maintenance technology to anticipate building maintenance needs in advance. We also provide financing for the implementation of smart building systems, energy retrofits, and renewable solutions through guaranteed or shared saving plans with agreed payback periods.