Bahrain photovoltaic solar panel use

After the establishment of the Sustainable Energy Unit (SEU) in Bahrain in 2014, a radical transition toward launching solar energy projects can clearly be observed. The SEU was established in collaboration between the national government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

According to estimates by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Bahrain's photovoltaic (PV) capacity was around 10 MW at that time. Large-scale plants offer one way to rapidly scale up renewable energy deployment. One notable project is the Askar landfill site in southern governorate.

None of the participants mentioned any reported barriers to installation of solar PV in Bahrain. This is likely because solar panel installation is relatively new in Bahrain and the participants were not clear on the specifics involved. Effective dissemination of information is necessary, as explained later.

There have been no studies on public perception of solar PV in Bahrain or in any other GCC country to date. In fact, compared with technical studies, there are only a few peer-reviewed studies on the social aspects of solar PV.

Bahrain receives approximately 6 kWh/m² /day of solar radiation ( Alnaser et al., 2014 ). The country's global horizontal irradiance is 2160 kWh/m² /year, while direct normal radiation is 2050 kWh/m² /year ( IRENA,, 2014 ). In 2016, the average daily sunshine hours exceeded 10 hours, further emphasizing the potential for solar energy in Bahrain ( IGA,, 2016 ).

According to the cross tabulation results, majority of participants who were willing to pay the full cost of residential solar PV systems were Bachelor degree holders with the average per-capita monthly income for Bahrainis.