Business & Finance Club - Manama : Bahrain has initiated a pilot project to install solar-powered streetlights around the country, oil and gas affairs minister and national oil and gas authority chairman Abdulhussain Mirza said.

Mirza revealed that the pilot project could be extended to “include some installations at the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco)” in the municipality of Awali in the heart of Bahrain, populated mostly by oil-refinery workers.

“The lights work throughout the year, and are fully independent from the electricity grid. They will not be affected by any power interruptions,” Mirza reported.

Solar-powered streetlights offer the biggest potential for solar technology to become common and accepted in the Middle East, according to CStar International CEO Nabil Hamade.

“When you get into solar, your upfront costs are very high. If you want to develop a brand new solar-power generation facility for air-con, for example, it is costly. With solar lighting, on the other hand, you do not have to run wires, and conduits or trenches are eliminated. It simply comprises a streetlight mast with a battery and a solar panel. It is totally independent, and you can put it anywhere, whether in streets or even in gardens,” he said.

“We have calculated a two-year payback period, with a 50% return-on-investment – compared to solar-power generation itself, which typically has a 20-year payback. So, in order to benefit the diverse communities here and meet the new sustainability objectives of the government, we think this is the way to go.”