Yemen Starts Renewable Energy Program by Awarding Contract for Al-Moukha Windfarm

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Yemen is a small oil producer that does not belong to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The World Bank predicts that Yemen's oil and gas revenues will plummet in 2009 and 2010, falling to zero by 2017. Yemen's total production of power is 650 megawatts (MW), and the electricity ministry purchases about 200 MW from international companies to address part of the shortfall in demand.

Awadh al Suqatri, Yemen's minister of electricity, recently said, "There is a 10% increase in power demand because of the expansion of cities and the increase of the electricity supplied to the countryside." Yemen's electricity output is sufficient for only 57% of the country's demand.

For several years, the Yemeni government promised to end the power problem by building gas-fueled power stations. The first phase of the 340-MW Mareb station, the largest of the new power station projects, was supposed to begin production 2008, but was not operational until late 2009.

Yemen began creating a policy regarding renewable energy and energy efficiency in 2008, in an attempt to harness the country's power potential from wind, solar and geothermal energy. The most important objectives for this policy is to promote sustainable electricity sector development by opening the electricity market to foreign and private investors (independent power producers) and nongovernmental institutions to provide renewable energy services in rural areas (rural energy service providers).

To implement this policy and to meet the growth rate in electricity demand, the Energy Minister of Yemen is planning to put 200 MW of wind power up for tender to independent power producers (IPPs) as the first part of the 1,000-MW program.

The Ministry of Electricity recently awarded South Korean company Shinhan an IPP contract to construct the first windfarm in the Yemeni coastal area of Al-Mokha.

"The first phase of the IPP project will be 60 MW, with estimated cost of US$100 million. Construction kickoff is planned for mid-2010," said Choon Hwan Kim, chairman of Shinhan. "Shinhan will awarded the contract of for wind turbine supply to a Korean manufacturer," he said.

Proposed Yemeni renewable energy and energy efficiency policy targets consist of:

• Large-scale electricity generation and off-grid electrification
• Energy efficiency
• Increased use of solar water heaters

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