Govt keen on investing in renewable energy: Minister

Manama : Electricity and Water Affairs Minister, Dr Abdulhussain Mirza, who is now in Austria, participated in the opening session of the Vienna Forum on Sustainable Energy held at the Vienna International Conference Centre.

The minister said his participation comes in preparation for the submission of Bahrain’s national voluntary audit report at the high-level political forum to be held in New York in July.

Several ministers, heads of organizations and senior officials involved in renewable energy from all over the world, were present.

Dr Mirza spoke about Bahrain’s achievements in the renewable energy field and the progress made towards the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals, in particular, that of clean and sustainable energy and the steps being taken by the government to encourage  nvestment in the area.

He said Bahrain had a great interest in clean energy and due to the keenness of His Majesty the King, His Royal Highness the Prime Minister and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.

He said Bahrain has set up the Sustainable Energy Unit in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme. It is concerned with encouraging investment in renewable energy such as solar energy since the government has set national targets of five per cent of energy use being renewable by 2015 and 10pc by 2035.

The minister spoke about the adoption of the national plan for energy efficiency (NEEAP) and the national plan for renewable energy (NREAP) and the formation of a committee headed by the Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs to implement the plans.

The minister also said that the govt had now begun to implement a project of setting up a 100mw solar power plant in partnership with the private sector and is seeking to invest in renewable and sustainable energy that is now a priority.

Bahrain has started implementing the net metering system that allows individuals and institutions to install solar energy devices at their homes and facilities.