A new solar power plant at Tatweer Petroleum in Bahrain will produce three megawatts (MW) of electricity, which is the energy used by 300 Bahraini homes, it has emerged.
Inaugurated by the kingdom’s Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa in Sakhir, the plant is a part of national plans to reduce the use of natural gas for generating electricity, helping in the conservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment, our sister publication GDN said in a report.
With the new plant, renewables can supply around six per cent of the company’s total energy needs.
“Bahrain is dedicated to fulfilling its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” said Shaikh Mohammed.
Tatweer’s first solar venture was a 1MW solar plant launched in 2016, when solar panels were connected to the company’s own power grid delivering enough power for the headquarters building.
The power now generated will be fed back into the Tatweer power grid for use in oil field operations.
“Solar panel costs have dropped dramatically over recent years, increasing the economic viability of large-scale systems,” said Shaikh Mohammed.
“Our solar farm is densely packed and installed at ground level within a confined area allowing easy access for cleaning and maintenance.”
The company is keen to use the latest technologies in oil exploration and production while continuing its commitment to the highest standards of health, safety and environmental protection, added Shaikh Mohammed.
The inauguration was attended by Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) president Dr Abdulhussain Mirza, who said the plant would help Bahrain in attaining the goal of raising the proportion of clean energy in the total domestic energy mix to 5pc by 2025, about 250MW, increasing to 10 per cent by 2035.
Dr Mirza is the head of the new authority which is driving the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) and the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) aimed at saving energy worth BD230 million.
MODELS
The authority has the mandate to promote renewable energy production, through policies and frameworks, identifying feasible energy models and endorsing the use of energy efficient technology.
“We need to do more as the Arab region has the planet’s highest levels of solar radiation,” said Dr Mirza.
“By choosing renewable options, the nation will also move towards a reduction in CO2 emissions.”
He said benefits will include a reduction in the energy production at the national level, resulting in government savings and lower investment needs in terms of energy production.
The government has approved plans to build a 100MW solar power station as a public private partnership project, which will provide for 2.5 per cent of the country’s electricity needs by 2025. The national goal is to increase energy efficiency by six per cent over the next five years.
The GDN reported previously that net metering launched in January last year enables consumers to generate their own power from renewables for self-consumption and feed the excess to the national grid, while 535 government buildings including schools and hospitals have been identified under the tender-based feed-in-tariff.
During the opening ceremony, the team reviewed a brief overview of the project, in which several important points were mentioned related to the work of the new plant, which is expected to generate more than 5400MWh per year.
