KUWAIT, September 8th, 2020 — As part of its commitment to long-term sustainable development, the EQUATE Group, in partnership with the National Technology Enterprise Company (NTEC), has completed a solar power project that will deliver clean renewable energy for the Public Authority of Industry (PAI). Of the 655 solar panels that were placed on the PAI rooftop, approximately 419 Mwh will be generated per year to meet demand for electrical renewable energy that will help reduce about 252 tons of CO2 annually.
Commenting on the completion of the project, Abdulkarim Taqi, PAI Director-General, said: “This project is a demonstration of a successful private and public sector partnership that realizes the ambitions of His Highness Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to generate 15% of Kuwait’s power demand from renewable energy by 2030. The completion, in partnership with EQUATE Group and NTEC, of the installation of solar panels, is the first solar project of its size for the country – and will be used as a prototype for future government buildings to implement renewable energy solutions that create efficiencies and contribute to the protection of the environment.”
The Public Authority of Industry was established in 1997, to develop, promote and supervise the industrial activity in the State of Kuwait.
CEO-elect and Senior Vice President, Mr. Naser Aldousari, said: “The EQUATE Group has a long-term commitment to sustainability applied across all disciplines of our business, aiming to achieve sustainable economy, environment, and community.
“The Renewable Energy Project at the PAI building reflects Kuwait’s progressive steps in developing its sustainable energy production, and our partnership with NTEC on this affirms our shared mission to make as positive and sustainable an impact in everything we do.”
Anas Meerza, Group CEO, NTEC, said: “NTEC was mandated to play a role in identifying and initiating technology projects that contribute to the development of Kuwait, and the region. This latest partnership with EQUATE, employing technology that provides clean renewable energy for the PIA is a successful demonstration of this. We believe that this will encourage more private sector and international companies to play a role in expanding the country’s solar energy capabilities.”
EQUATE continues invests an annual average of US$ 500 million in the Kuwait economy. This includes employment of national professionals, contribution to social, educational and environmental initiatives, as well as partnering with the local private sector in its operational local content.
ABOUT THE EQUATE GROUP
The EQUATE Group is a global producer of petrochemicals and the world’s second largest producer of ethylene glycol (EG). The EQUATE Group owns and operates industrial complexes in Kuwait, North America and Europe that annually produce over 6 million tons of ethylene, EG, polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), styrene monomer (SM), paraxylene (PX), heavy aromatics (HA) and benzene (BZ). The EQUATE Group includes EQUATE Petrochemical Company (EQUATE), The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC), as well as a number of subsidiaries such as MEGlobal and Equipolymers. Their products are marketed throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The EQUATE Group’s shareholders are Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Employing more than 1,500 people worldwide, the EQUATE Group is a leading enterprise that pursues sustainability wherever it operates through partnerships in fields that include the environment, economy and society. Visit www.equate.com
ABOUT THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR INDUSTRY
On 15 January 1997, Public Authority for Industry was established and it is an autonomous authority under the supervision of the Minister of Commerce & Industry. The purpose of such an establishment was developing, promoting and supervising the industrial activity in the State of Kuwait, through encouraging local industries, protecting and expanding the production base to including strategic goods required for national and nutritional security, and this would diversify national income sources which is a main goal for PAI. In addition to that it is in PAI’s concern to deepening the industrial awareness of the citizens, and helps propagate studies, coordinate between the existing industries and that proposed for future at GCC and Arabian countries and consolidates the industrial cooperation with different countries and international organization. Visit https://www.pai.gov.kw/
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENTERPRISE COMPANY (NTEC)
The National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC) was established back in November of 2002 and operational in late 2004, by the Kuwait Council of Ministers as a fully owned subsidiary of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). Capitalized at 100 Million Kuwaiti Dinars (Approximately 350 Million U.S. Dollars), with a paid up capital of 85 Million Kuwaiti Dinars. NTEC was created to play a vital role in servicing major stakeholders in Kuwait with their technology needs. The company holds a unique position being fully owned by the Kuwaiti Government, yet enjoys all private sector privileges and operates as such; with its own business license, articles of association, board of directors and capital, NTEC was able to utilize its broad objectives and technology focus being: Information & Communications Technologies, Life Sciences & Healthcare Technologies, Energy, Renewable Energy, Water & Environmental Technologies, to develop distinctive operational and investment strategies to address its core mandate: Technology & Knowledge Transfer. Visit https://www.ntec.com.kw/