Yemen plans new solar projects - report

The government of Yemen is considering building new solar power plants with a capacity of up to 20 MW, the country's electricity minister Anwar Kalshat told energy platform At-Taqa.

The war-torn country will be backed with about USD 200 million (EUR 194.36m) from its neighbour Saudi Arabia to secure the fuel needed to operate power plants amid higher demand for electricity in the summer, Kalshat noted in the interview.

In a previous interview with the platform, Kalshat said that Yemen was planning to develop solar plants each with a capacity in the range of 10 MW to 20 MW and up to 70 MW. For this purpose, the Arab country initiated a tender back in 2020 which was cancelled as the projects submitted by local companies offered too high prices as compared with other countries in the region.

The considerations for new solar projects come after Yemen's Selah Foundation for Development, the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Programme for Yemen and Riyadh-based organisation The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) unveiled at the beginning of 2022 a USD-2.1-million joint project aimed at the deployment of renewable energy in Yemen. The initiative is meant to improve the quality of life in five governorates of the Arab country whereas renewable energy will be used to provide electricity for private homes and public facilities as well as to supply drinking water and water for agricultural irrigation.

Yemen, which has been mired in a civil war for about a decade, is seeking to raise the share of renewables to 15% of the electricity generation in the country by 2025.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.972)

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