Bahrain inks deal to develop solar power policies

Bahrain has appointed technical consulting and engineering company CESI as it embarks on developing its solar power policies.

Dr. Abdul-Hussain Ali Mirza, the country's Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs, said CESI has been hired to support Bahrain’s sustainable energy unit (SEU) to develop the regulatory requirements related to connecting distributed renewable energy resources.

The SEU’s key objectives are to create an efficient and sustainable energy policy, encourage the use of renewables and raise awareness towards energy conservation.

Mirza said: “Active steps are being undertaken by all stakeholders, in all aspects of energy sustainability including the focus to support initiatives centered on enhancement of energy efficiency and achieving clean energy production through the promotion of renewable energy deployment.

“CESI were selected after careful evaluation of a number of bids for this extensive and important assignment.”

The Minister added that Bahrain has increasingly recognised the growing importance of renewable energy as demand increases, with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems a particular focus of interest.

SEU has tasked CESI with finding solutions which include connecting renewable generation projects, increasing solar distributed generators and providing recommendations to speed up the growth of the PV market.

CESI’s CEO, Dr Matteo Codazzi, said: "Each country’s power system is unique and needs a specific approach. In this respect, we are honoured to put our extensive global expertise at the service of Bahrain in order to support them in designing and implementing a technically solid and easily actionable PV integration plan, tailored on the specific needs of Bahrain’s power grid."

In October 2016, the Bahrain Government endorsed Bahrain’s National Plan for Energy Efficiency which seeks a 6 percent national electrical energy efficiency by year 2025.

It also calls for a 5 percent contribution from renewable energies by the year 2025, rising further to 10 percent by the year 2035.

CESI operates in more than 40 countries providing testing and certification services to the electromechanical industry as well as consulting and engineering services to the energy sector.