Floating systems of solar panels drawing power from sunlight, alongside those set on rooftops and open locations, appear to be more suitable for Bahrain and provide a better return on investment than wind energy, according to a recently published study.
The findings were highlighted in the ‘Evaluating solar and wind electricity production in the Kingdom of Bahrain to combat climate change’ academic study conducted by University of Bahrain researchers – architecture professor Naser Alnaser and natural resources and environment professor Waheeb Alnaser.
“To reduce the CO2 (carbon dioxide) emission in Bahrain and to reach the target of 20 per cent RE (renewable energy) share, as well as reach the zero-emission target in Bahrain by 2060, which is a major step toward combating climate change, it is advisable that Bahrain relies more on the utilisation of solar energy for electricity production followed by wind energy,” the researchers concluded in the report.
The study was conducted on two pilot projects – a 1MW (megawatt) solar power plant in Awali and two identical large wind turbines – each rated at 850 kilowatts (KW) in the Al Dur area.
The 1MW solar plant was found to reduce the carbon footprint by 42pc more than 1MW of wind power, that is, in an average year, a 1MW solar system was found to reduce CO2 production by 654 tonnes, while a 1MW wind system alleviates 461 tonnes of CO2.
In 2022, the annual average produced by the first wind turbine (WT1) was found to be 899MWh (megawatt hours), while the second (WT2) was 872MWh,” according to the study.
“Meanwhile, the 1MW solar PV (photovoltaic) produced 1,632MWh in 2017 and 1,497MWh in 2018.
“Our analysis shows that each kW of wind turbine yields 2.9kWh per day while each kW solar PV electricity yields, on average, 4.3kWh per day.
“We also found that the average cost of wind electricity unit is 49 fils/kWh (13 US cents/kWh) and the payback is nearly 40 years while the average cost of solar electricity unit is 17 fils/kWh and the payback is nearly 12 years.”
The study also addressed the issue of the amount of land space required by renewable energy sources.
It found that if the government were to use twice as much solar as wind, in order to hit net zero, it would need to install 38,736 MW of solar panels, requiring an area of 577 square kilometres (sqkm) and 27,477 MW of wind turbines, covering an area of 248sqkm.
Bahrain’s total land area is only 750sqkm, therefore necessitating the use of rooftop and offshore utilities.
“Bahrain can install a transparent floating solar PV system offshore which will save land for commercial, industrial, or housing projects and reduce CO2 emission,” the researchers suggested in the conclusion to the study.
“Our future work will be concentrated on sizing the renewable energy mix (especially wind and solar) using floating solar PV, offshore wind turbines and floating wind turbines.”
The team also pointed to other efforts to offset Bahrain’s carbon footprint, citing a GDN report about Bahrain achieving 100pc of its annual afforestation goal, by planting 110,000 seedlings of mangrove trees and 140,000 other trees across the kingdom.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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