In 2025, Kuwait’s electricity consumption was supplied entirely by fossil fuels, with gas accounting for about 58% and other fossil fuels making up the remaining 42%. Low-carbon sources contributed none of the reported electricity supply. This complete reliance on fossil electricity leaves substantial room for clean generation to reduce the climate impacts and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Kuwait?

Kuwait’s electricity consumption per person remains well below its historical peak rather than setting new records. In 2025, consumption was about 16,600 kWh per person, compared with roughly 20,100 kWh in 2006—a decline of around 3,500 kWh, or 18%. Low-carbon electricity generation was reported at zero kWh per person, down from its 2022 record of about 414 kWh. These figures show a disappointing retreat from past peaks, although comparisons with historical records alone do not establish whether total electricity consumption grew in the latest year. Expanding clean electricity would help Kuwait meet future demand from electrification, cooling and AI.

Suggestions

Kuwait should prioritize a substantial expansion of solar electricity alongside developing nuclear generation, with wind contributing where local conditions are suitable. The United Arab Emirates offers a particularly relevant regional example: nuclear supplies about 20% of its electricity. France, where nuclear contributes roughly two-thirds, demonstrates the scale this clean source can achieve. For solar, Kuwait can learn from nearby Jordan, which generates about 15% of its electricity from solar, and the sunny US states of Nevada and Arizona, at about 35% and 19%, respectively. Arizona also generates about a quarter of its electricity from nuclear, illustrating how both technologies can contribute to one electricity system. Wind development could draw lessons from Morocco, where wind supplies about 20%, supported by local resource assessments and grid investment.

History

Kuwait’s reported low-carbon electricity history shows little measurable progress through most of the 2010s: the listed annual changes in solar and wind generation were zero from 2013 through 2020. Growth appeared in the early 2020s, with solar generation increasing by 0.1 TWh in 2021 and wind generation rising by 1.7 TWh in 2022. The other listed changes during 2021–2023 were zero, including solar in 2023. Those early gains were encouraging, but the reported absence of low-carbon generation in 2025 is a disappointing contrast to the 2022 peak; the supplied annual-change data do not explain the subsequent fall. Kuwait needs sustained clean electricity expansion rather than isolated additions.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade