Further details have been released regarding a solar plant in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province being jointly developed by Bahrain’s Bapco Energies and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power (MEES, 5 December). The capacity of the plant will be 2.8GW and will include a battery energy storage system (BESS). Falling costs for BESS mean that Gulf States are increasingly investing in the technology in order to mitigate intermittency (MEES, 13 November).
Commenting on LinkedIn about the project, Acwa Power CEO Marco Arcelli says the company’s is helping in “turning Saudi Arabia from the largest exporter of oil to the largest exporter of low carbon and desalination expertise!” For Bahrain, the import of renewable electricity from Saudi Arabia will help bolster its power sector which has suffered from declining domestic gas output (MEES, 7 November). (CONTINUED - 132 WORDS)