Dubai's Yellow Door Energy to develop Bahrain's largest rooftop solar plant

Panels on top of Bahrain Mall will generate up to 10 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy in its first year of operation

Over 11,600 solar panels will be installed to meet 50% of the Bahrain Mall’s energy consumption needs. Courtesy: Yellow Door Energy

Bahrain's Sustainable Energy Authority and Dubai-based Yellow Door Energy signed an agreement to develop the country's largest rooftop solar plant.

The companies signed a 6.2 megawatt-peak solar power purchase agreement to set up the plant for the Bahrain Mall, which is operated by the kingdom's Carrefour branch.

The panels will cover an area of 40,000 square metres of rooftop space and will generate up to 10 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy in its first year of operation.

"As the leading solar developer with 120MW of solar assets in the Middle East and Pakistan, Yellow Door Energy looks forward to commissioning the solar plant and to bringing affordable and clean energy to more leading businesses in Bahrain that is in line with the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan," said Rory McCarthy, Yellow Door Energy chief commercial officer.

Bahrain plans to reach a renewable energy target of 5 per cent of its total energy mix by 2025. The kingdom plans to increase the capacity of renewables to 10 per cent by 2035 under the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

Yellow Door's plant will have 11,600 solar panels that will meet 50 per cent of the mall's energy consumption needs. The clean power project will help offset around 6,300 tonnes of carbon emissions, according to the Dubai-based company.

Yellow Door Energy plans to add $100 million worth of renewable energy assets to its portfolio this year, according to its chief executive.

The company, which is backed by multilateral lenders including the International Finance Corporation, has focused on developing its existing solar facilities in the UAE but expanded to Bahrain during the pandemic.

"We expect to achieve $1bn of assets by 2025," Jeremy Crane told The National in an interview in January.