Optimization of the Technology Mix for the Shagaya 2 GW Renewable Energy Park in Kuwait

As part of the Shagaya Renewable Energy Master Plan in Kuwait, the presented study describes the methodology developed and applied for the optimization of the technology mix for a 2&GW, 1002km2 renewable energy park. Scenarios with different focuses for the technology mix were developed, selecting from 14 technology options (three wind, five PV and six CSP) and emphasizing either high peak load supply, high overall annual electricity production or low levelized cost of electricity. An optimization procedure that uses a general pattern search algorithm implemented in the software GenOpt was used to maximize a score calculated from eight criteria. These were determined in a social-techno-economic evaluation, which included performance simulations of every technology option for the allocated site in Kuwait. Besides the available land area, the capacity credit of the installed technology mix was included as an additional boundary condition. 2010 was selected as base year since it was the most recent year for which both high quality meteorological and electricity demand data was available. The results for all considered scenarios are presented in this paper, with the one that was chosen as final result of the master plan comprising 136&MW wind power, 614&MW of PV and 1250&MW of CSP. Furthermore, the study showed that thermal storage is indispensable to serve peak demand hours and a diverse technology mix is important to achieve a high capacity credit.