EXPERTS proposing to build an island that harnesses renewable energy off the coast of Manama in Bahrain, say it could be used as an offshore business centre, housing residential and commercial property as well.
Danish architecture firm Gottlieb Paludan, which is behind the concept – first unveiled at the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen last December – claims it could be a self-sustaining city run on renewable energy.
The ‘Green Power Island’ project involves construction of an artificial island complete with its own reservoir, which would generate power by collecting water from the sea – activating turbines that produce electricity as water flowed in. The reservoir would also use solar and wind power, meaning it could be emptied at night before the process resumed the next day.
The Bahrain island is designed with both wind turbines and solar panels, which provide a potential for energy 24 hours a day, and the project could cost anywhere between BD1.5 billion to 2.6 billion ($4-7 billion).
The Green Power Island would measure 12.5 sq km with 9 sq km of urban space, and have a reservoir with a capacity of almost 119 million cu m.
The project focuses on synergies, and in the case of Bahrain, income from the sale of urban development on the island would help finance the project.
Other possible locations identified for a Green Power Island include China, India, Denmark and the US (Florida). The idea is to combine Green Power Islands with existing and future solar plants and wind farms to store renewable energy on a massive scale, meaning power can be produced even when there is no sun or wind.
The proposal is yet to be officially presented to Bahrain’s government, but decision-makers have welcomed the initiative.
“It is the vision of the future for Bahrain to use clean energy,” said Municipalities and Agriculture Minister Dr Juma Al Ka’abi.
“Renewable energy is the way forward,” he said, adding that Bahrain would need to start using solar energy and wind energy sooner or later and such projects “would be welcome”.
Meanwhile, Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife director-general Dr Ismael Al Madani said in-depth studies would have to take place before such a project could go ahead.
The commission would need to know if the project is sustainable and measure it in terms of the three pillars of sustainability – which are economic, social and environmental, he said.
As the island would be built on reclaimed land, there was bound to be damage to marine life, so it would have to be studied in-depth, he added.
Gottlieb Paludan now hopes to create a model of the island in Danish waters in association with the Danish Institute for Sustainable Energy and other partners but no date had yet been fixed for work to start because of the complexity of the project.
