Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza presented an electronic seminar on the plans and renewable energy projects in Bahrain.

The seminar was organised by the US Embassy in cooperation with the US-Arab National Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC). US Ambassador Justin Siberell spoke through a live electronic broadcast over the Internet to a large number of businessmen and investors in the United States.

The minister thanked and appreciated Bahrain’s leadership and the government and reviewed the historical relations between Bahrain and the United States for more than 135 years. He also focused on presenting the latest achievements in the implementation of the National Plan for renewable Energy, which includes seven key projects and to achieve the national goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix by 5 per cent by 2025. He also spoke of the National Energy Efficiency Plan, which includes 22 initiatives to achieve the national goal of increasing energy efficiency of 6 per cent by 2025.

Dr. Mirza also talked about the project of setting up a 100-megawatt solar power plant in partnership with the private sector. The government seeks through this project to invest in sustainable energy, which is one of its priorities in the work programme. He also mentioned the Net Metering project, which allows individuals and organizations to operate solar energy in their homes and facilities. This has already begun to be implemented in a number of residential homes and other facilities. The roofs of around 550 government buildings are being used for the installation of solar energy systems.

The US Ambassador and others expressed their thanks and appreciation to the minister for the presentation and the integrated information on the renewable energy sector in Bahrain.