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Bahrain is set to enhance energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint as it expands a key programme that will target 20 government and 14 private buildings this year.
The Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) president Kamal Ahmed announced yesterday the expansion of the ‘Kafa’a’ programme that will cover the above private and public sectors buildings across the country.
The programme will also contribute to flattening energy usage during peak hours, which will mitigate the need for additional generation capacity.
“This national initiative supports the kingdom’s ongoing efforts to optimise energy efficiency, reduce operational costs, and lower carbon emissions across public and private sector facilities,” said Mr Ahmed in a statement yesterday.
“Reducing carbon emissions is one of the programme’s primary objectives, targeting savings of approximately 308 gigawatt-hours in electricity consumption and a reduction of nearly 154,000 tonnes of emissions by 2040, making it one of the kingdom’s key national projects in support of carbon neutrality efforts.”
He added the tender for the first group of government buildings has been awarded to energy services companies (ESCOs), which will implement the required efficiency measures in collaboration with EWA.
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Mr Ahmed
Simultaneously, the authority has initiated the tendering process for a second group of government buildings and issued a separate tender for private sector facilities, marking an expansion of the programme across key sectors in Bahrain.
The programme once implemented is projected to deliver annual electricity savings of approximately 37 gigawatt-hours, financial savings of more than BD1 million, and a reduction of nearly 19,000 tonnes in carbon emissions each year.
“Kafa’a” is a strategic national project designed to enhance energy efficiency across high-consumption facilities in both the public and private sectors.
The programme works in partnership with ESCOs – specialised companies that provide energy auditing, performance monitoring and financing solutions.
The EWA oversees the execution, monitors impact and ensures the achievement of projected savings in accordance with contractual commitments, supporting Bahrain’s sustainability goals and its net-zero ambitions by 2060.
The programme was officially launched in December 2023 following a resolution by the Cabinet, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
The launch followed the success of a pilot project that covered four government buildings, recorded a 41 per cent reduction in energy consumption, a 39pc decrease in utility bills, and an annual reduction of 5,430 tonnes in carbon emissions across selected government facilities.
The EWA last year signed a partnership agreement with Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad ESCO), a subsidiary of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to implement the ‘Kafa’a’ programme.
Several projects and initiatives relating to climate mitigation and adaptation are underway across the country to meet the long-term goal of reaching net-zero by 2060.
This includes afforestation and mangrove-planting initiatives with yearly targets in line with 2035 goals, a Coastal Resilience Strategy, that developed a digital model of Bahrain’s terrain and assessed different sea level rise scenarios up until 2100.
An action plan to protect Bahrain’s coastline was established, encompassing more than 190 proposed actions, to be implemented in five-year intervals until 2040.
The National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) has set a target of using renewable energy to produce 5pc of Bahrain’s power this year – increasing to 10pc by 2035.
Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Yasser Humaidan told MPs earlier this year that Bahrain was conducting extensive studies on integrating advanced technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs) to modernise its electricity grid and diversify energy sources.
The minister also outlined the government’s efforts to promote renewable energy adoption among homes and businesses.
One of the initiatives includes rewarding residents who install solar panels in their residences with reduced electricity bills, thanks to a scheme that credits excess energy sent back to the national grid.
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