National Energy Strategy Bapco Energies is spearheading the development of a national energy strategy, aiming to optimize the utilization of national resources and paving the way for a low carbon future in alignment with Bahrain’s net-zero targets. The strategy focuses on Bapco Energies’ transformation from a conventional oil and gas company into a more diversified energy entity, incorporating various decarbonization options like carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
Renewable Energy
Through the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP), Bahrain aims to increase the share of renewable energy in its energy mix. The Plan includes the implementation of solar and wind energy projects and aims to generate 5 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025, further increasing it to 20 percent by 2035. The NREAP also laid the foundation to encourage household participation in the push towards renewable energy usage. In 2017, the Net Metering Resolution was launched, which allows consumers to generate their own power from renewable energy for self-consumption and to feed the excess into the national grid, earning an energy credit on their electricity and water invoice. In 2021, the Electricity and Water Authority in cooperation with the Information and eGovernment Authority, launched the net metering system service through the Benayat Platform. In addition, the Government launched its National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) in 2017, which sets a national target of 6 percent reduction in energy consumption in the year 2025. The NEEAP promotes energy efficiency practices across various sectors through the implementation of 22 initiatives and has led to changing all government lighting to highly efficient lighting (e.g., LEDs), initiating the process of moving to renewable energy, issuing a green building code, and further promoting district cooling as a sustainable solution for cooling.
Electric Vehicles
In 2021, the Kingdom issued the “Electric Vehicles Technical Regulation”, to promote and adopt green transport in Bahrain. In 2023, the Ministry of Electricity and Water Affairs awarded a contract for the development of an electric vehicle (EV) strategy for the Kingdom. The Ministry has also awarded a contract for the installation of five electric vehicle charging stations across the Kingdom.