Masdar Bids For 100 MW Bahrain Solar Tender

• Bahrain's Minister for Electricity and Water Affairs Dr Abdulhussain Mirza has said the government has received bids for a 100 MW solar power tender
• He said Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company Masdar is one of the bidders for this project, according to a report by Emirates News Agency, WAM
• In March 2018, Zawya reported Bahrain had launched a request for concept tender for the 100 MW solar power plant, to be developed on a landfill site in Askar; it is expected to be completed by December 2019

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is one of the bidders for a 100 MW solar power project in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Bahrain's Minister for Electricity and Water Affairs Dr Abdulhussain Mirza said bids have been received for the 100 MW tender.

Bahrain issued a request for concept tender for the 100 MW solar power plant in early 2018, according to a March 28, 2018 article by Thomson Reuters Zawya. Approved by the government, it is envisioned to be built on a public-private partnership basis.

Zawya reported the project will be built on a landfill site in Askar, measuring 2 million m2, and it is expected to be completed by December 2019.

Speaking at solar energy exhibition and conference STEEB in September 2017 in Bahrain, Mirza reportedly said his country will aim for a 5% renewables share in the total energy mix by 2025, and increase it to 10% by 2035. He said, "Work has begun to reach some 250 MW of renewables by 2025, and solar energy has the lion share of 170 MW over the next five years." That's when he also referred to the 100 MW solar project.

In its Global Solar Market Attractiveness Index in April 2018, GTM Research forecasts Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and the UAE to develop 22.4 GW of cumulative PV by 2023 (see 5 Middle East Nations To Install 22 GW By 2030).