Eco expansion

Renewable energy makes up 1.5% of Bahrain’s 20,000 gigawatt-hours of annual power output

TDT | Manama

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The Electricity and Water Authority says the Bahrain generates about 20,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, with renewables making up around 1.5 per cent of that total, as work continues to raise clean power’s share in the overall energy mix.

Replying to a parliamentary question from MP Ahmed Al Salloom, the authority said the National Renewable Energy Plan, approved by the Cabinet in 2017, aims to lift the share of renewables to 20 per cent by 2035.

It linked the target to Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 and the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.

The authority said around 372 renewable projects, with total capacity of more than 141 megawatts, have been brought into operation so far.

Projects

Another 54 distributed projects are being developed, with total capacity expected to approach 500 megawatts in the coming years, alongside solar power plants planned for different sites.

It said it is keeping pace with technical and technological advances in renewables, reviewing options to raise their share in the energy mix, and upgrading its electronic systems so the grid can absorb renewable systems more effectively.

That work, it added, is intended to speed up applications to connect renewable systems.

On solar generation, the authority said it is working on projects totalling 500 megawatts.

Model

This includes an expansion of the Al Dur Renewable Energy Station under a utility-scale model, described as being under implementation with capacity of about 100 megawatts.

It also said it has issued a tender to develop and deliver Bahrain’s first solar power plant through a strategic partnership with the private sector, with production capacity of around 150 megawatts, while coordinating with private firms to build privately owned central power plants with total capacity of about 250 megawatts.

It said limited land availability for large central projects is being addressed through measures in the national plan that promote distributed renewable systems on rooftops, buildings, facilities and car parks, alongside ongoing checks of open areas for utility-scale photovoltaic farms.

Study

The authority said it has launched a 2-megawatt pilot wind project and is working on a feasibility study for a floating wind farm.

It added that it is also studying the scope to expand wind power within the energy mix, but said current data shows it is not economically viable because costs are high.

It said it is also running ongoing assessment studies of newer energy sources that could be added to the energy mix in future, including small modular reactors, noting that these are still in development and trial stages globally and have not yet been used on a wide commercial scale.

Designs, it added, are still moving through development and licensing under international standards.

Requests

The authority said around 70 rooftop solar projects have been installed on homes so far, and it is seeing a rise in residential requests to connect solar systems, alongside awareness campaigns on renewables.

It pointed to net metering as a main incentive, under Ministerial Decision No. 2 of 2017 on net metering for renewable sources connected to the national electricity grid.

The authority said the policy allows households and premises to install renewable systems, use the power generated to meet their own needs, and export surplus electricity to the grid in return for bill credits equal to the amount exported.