Bahrain's Steel Industry Goes Green with Industrial Rooftop Solar Array

The Arabian birthplace of the Persian Gulf oil industry is banking on developing one of the world’s largest rooftop solar energy arrays.

Steel industry investment firm Foulath Holding will contract with Yellow Door Energy to construct a 123-MW rooftop solar project atop a new stockyard shed. The project is aimed at decarbonizing steel production in the nation.

Foulath Holding is the parent company of Bahrain Steel and SULB. Still known as a key producer of oil despite not being part of OPEC, Bahrain has diversified its economy in past decades to include banking, tourism and manufacturing.

"We are incredibly proud of this transformative project – marking the largest rooftop solar plant in the world,” H.E. Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, Minister of Sustainable Development, Chief Executive of Bahrain EDB, said in a statement. “This milestone not only strengthens our position as a regional leader in clean energy, but embodies our dedication to build a resilience, sustainable future in line with our national vision of elevating Bahrain's international competitiveness."

The 123-MW site will cover ten rooftop solar PV plants and four ground-mounted solar PV installations and is expected to decarbonize the Kingdom of Bahrain’s steel production. With a total of over 189,900 high-efficiency solar panels spread across 707,000 square meters, the project is expected to generate 200 million kWh of clean energy in its first year of operation, reducing carbon emissions by 90,000 metric tons.