EWA President reiterates commitment to National Energy Transition Plan

Manama, June 25 (BNA): Chairman of the Electricity and Water Authority, Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain has begun implementing its national energy transition plan, which aims to increase the share of renewable energy resources in the Kingdom to 5 sources. % of Bahrain’s total electricity generation by 2025, to advance further to 20% by 2035.

The president indicated that under Ministerial Resolution No. 2/2017 regarding connecting renewable energy resources to the distribution network, the Electricity and Water Authority has taken several measures such as simplifying the process of connecting applications and setting up procedures to facilitate the integration process. Renewable energy resources for the electricity grid of the Electricity and Water Authority (through the recent issuance of Resolution 1/2019 amending Article 8 of Resolution 2/2017.

He said that the Electricity and Water Authority has adopted eligibility criteria for registering consultants and contractors for distributed renewable energy resources. Currently, there are 54 contractors and 93 approved consultants for the distribution of renewable energy resources in the Kingdom.

The head of the Electricity and Water Authority confirmed that the Electricity and Water Authority has adopted accurate technical standards to ensure the optimum quality of equipment and components used in renewable energy systems, in addition to considering the relevant technical specifications by including them respectively in the government’s “Unified Guide to Building Permit Systems”.

He pointed out that the Electricity and Water Authority has coordinated with the Information and e-Government Authority to digitize all stages of renewable energy applications through the unified portal “Banayat”, which is an electronic system for issuing building permits in the Kingdom. This ensures that the application process is further simplified and accelerated.

The head of the Electricity and Water Authority identified the recent growth of renewable resources in the Kingdom through relevant general statistics. A total of 303 applications for renewable energy installations were submitted from the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. 181 out of 303 applications have been successfully commissioned and connected to the electricity distribution network of the Electricity and Water Company, whose total connected capacity exceeds 38 megawatts. In addition, more than 150 megawatts are expected to be installed by 2026.

The Electricity and Water Authority aims to diversify the energy resources in the Kingdom, through its journey to implement the National Energy Transformation Plan in Bahrain. Bahrain is dedicated to its transition to sustainable energy and its COP26 commitments, by investing in renewable energy resources and ultimately reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2060.

HF