Is Bahrain's first solar panel company the start of a sea change?

This is good news for Solar One, Bahrain’s first solar panels company. Since its founding in 2017, the startup boasts of contributing over two megawatts of solar to the country’s energy mix — enough to power around 380 US homes. It’s a drop in the ocean, but it hopefully marks the beginning of a sea change.

Why are there no barriers to solar PV installation in Bahrain?

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.

Is solar energy suitable for Bahrain?

Bahrain has the opportunity to use solar energy, as it receives an estimated solar radiation of 6 kWh/m²/day ( 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 ).

Is solar PV a social issue in Bahrain?

Although there are fewer peer-reviewed studies on the social aspects of solar PV compared to technical studies, the present research sheds light on public perspectives on this topic in Bahrain. In fact, it used a cross-sectional design for this purpose.