Bahrain’s net metering policy will be detailed at the Solar Utilities Network (SUN) forum on February 7, at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.  The forum will take place alongside the Gulf Industrial Fair 2018, which is being held from February 6 to 8 at the same venue.

The Bahrain Unit for Sustainable Energy (SEU), a joint initiative of the UNDP and the Ministry of Electricity and Water (EWA), will detail the kingdom’s strategy for energy efficiency and sustainability through net-metering, said a statement.

Presentations by Dr Khalid Burashid, senior technical advisor, SEU; and Alexander Al Samahiji, solar expert, SEU, will outline the billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the national grid, known as net metering.

The forum will also cover topics on renewable energy technology, renewable energy – challenges and opportunities, job creation and skilling a workforce for the challenges of solar and renewable energy.

Keynote speakers at the event include: Dr Toufic Hawat, chief technology advisor, Huawei Smart Solar; Dr Praveen Saxena, CEO, Green Jobs Council; Harish Ahuja, CEO, Fincredible, solarexchange.com; Sukrit Ranjan, Energy Consulatnt Almoayyed Trading & Contracting and Vishal Jindal, head of Operations, Anderson Vishad Edutech Training Alliance.

Bahrain’s energy vision is committed to producing five per cent of its electricity from renewable sources. The Kingdom will be the first in the region to implement 5 megawatt (MW) of distributed smart solar energy which is clean and efficient with the use of smart grid technology, enabling Bahrain to produce 100,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels annually, or about 274 panels daily.

The state oil company Bapco has recently started harnessing solar energy through another clean energy project in collaboration with the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), the Electrical and Water Authority (EWA), and the University of Bahrain which involves 21,000 solar panels and is currently being carried out by a US firm, Petra Solar.

Jubran Abdulrahman, managing director of Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE), said: “The SUN event is in line with promoting the ground-breaking work of Bahrain to achieve its renewable energy goals and vision.

“The Solar Utilities Network is an initiative supported by Bahrain Solar Association to promote a network of expertise and provide a platform for knowledge exchange for those in the solar and renewable energy sectors,” he added.

HUAWEI EXPERT 

Dr Toufic Hawat, the chief technology advisor to Huawei Smart PV Business Mena region, will be a keynote speaker at the forum, which is sponsored by Bahrain Solar Association and Bahrain Industrial Association. The leading global ICT and network energy solutions provider will outline smart technology options for solar power plants at the forum.

Huawei aims to develop a network for the exchange of expertise and knowledge for those in the solar and renewable energy sectors. At the upcoming event, Dr Hawat will address Huawei’s innovative FusionSolar Smart PV Solution. His topic Smart Utility-Scale PV Plant Solution will highlight Huawei’s global leadership in that space, said the company in a statement.

As chief technology advisor to Huawei Smart PV, Dr Hawat has been responsible for a portfolio of design and development of solar energy projects delivering 500MW plants, including a pipeline of more than 4.4GW of solar PV plants.

A leading authority in his field, Dr Hawat has published 45 international papers on solar measurements, system control and instrumentation as well as authoring studies on the impact on the atmosphere and natural resources.

After less than four years of development, Huawei FusionSolar Smart PV Solution has built a reputable position in the market with 20.5 GW of global inverter shipment in 2016, it stated.

According to global consultancy firm IHS Markit, Huawei was ranked No 1 globally in inverter shipment for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016.