SEA President chairs meeting on renewable energy projects

Manama, Apr. 18 (BNA): Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) President, Dr. Abdulhussain bin Ali Mirza, chaired the 22nd meeting of National Committee for the implementation and follow up on the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) and National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP), with the participation of members, and the Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme to Bahrain. Dr. Mirza reviewed the outcomes of the 2nd annual International Sustainable Energy Event (iSEE 2021) and associated exhibition, co-organised virtually in March by SEA and the Bahrain Society of Engineers, extending thanks to the organisers for the tremendous efforts they had exerted, which resulted in attracting 960 participants from 40 countries and 30 speakers from 12 countries. He shed light on the opening of the second solar panel manufacturing plant in the Kingdom, SolarTech, and the positive impact of this project in supporting efforts to encourage investments in renewable energy, in addition to the inauguration of the first solar energy projects, implemented by the “Midal Solar” company, which is one of the Midal Group companies. Dr. Mirza also highlighted the participation of the Sustainable Development Authority (SEA) in the weekly briefing organised by the National Communication Centre (NCC), praising the efforts exerted by NCC, under the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer, Yousif Al-binkhalil. Dr. Mirza reviewed SEA’s efforts to support academic and training institutions in the Kingdom, whether through developing educational programmes and curricula or through enabling them to benefit from renewable energy systems and energy efficiency solutions in their buildings and facilities, to reduce electricity bills and their carbon footprint at the same time. In this regard, he cited the signing of a joint cooperation agreement between SEA and the Al-Ahlia University to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency and their applications. The panel discussed the topics on the agenda, including the preliminary steps taken by SEA in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism through a specialised committee in charge of preparing integrated national policies for the adoption and encouraging the use of electric vehicles as one of the steps for sustainable transportation in the Kingdom. The meeting also discussed the national efforts being made to adopt central cooling policies, highlighted during the UAE’s announcement of its national cooling policies, which confirms Bahrain’s keenness to keep pace with the movements and trends in the region that aim to take advantage of technologies and solutions that improve energy efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases emitted from cooling. Dr. Mirza also announced that SEA will continue professional training programmes, including the one delivered in cooperation with the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) and UNDP to rehabilitate and prepare contractors and consultants to install solar energy systems.