Bahrain And Middle East to Benefit From Solar Smart Grid

Bahrain's Oil and Gas Authority in partnership with Bahrain Petroleum Company, Petra Solar and Caspian Energy Holdings are building a five megawatt solar smart grid project in the Awali area.  The project is a first of its kind in Bahrain and the Middle East region and aims to transform Bahrain's energy sector to rely less on non-renewable energy sources.

New research out from Northeast Group, state that smart grid in the Middle East and North Africa offers potential savings of up to $1 billion per year.   It also stated that all countries in [the region] are facing high rates of electricity demand growth, and the Gulf countries have some of the highest levels of per capita electricity consumption and carbon emissions in the world.

Marty Youssefiani, the CEO of Caspian Energy Holdings, said, the region has for some time evaluated the integration of solar energy for reduction of reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

'The project in Awali represents just the first step in a series of initiatives by Noga to diversify the sources of energy needed to ensure the sustainable development of the Kingdom,' said Minister of Energy Dr Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza. 'Following a successful implementation of this pilot project we expect that other projects will follow in the near future.'

According to Northeast Group, the smart metering market in the region is poised to reach sales of 16.1 million units by 2022, worth $3.9 billion yearly. Northeast predict that 86 percent of homes and businesses in the region are expected to have smart meters, around the same time.

Source: TA