Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) announced this week that it has secured funding totaling BD1.6 million (US$4.2 million) for its Solar Farm Project from Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait (BBK).
Alba and BBK held a signing ceremony on Monday that was attended by several officers from both firms. With this new funding in hand, Alba will be able to go forward with its solar project, which consists of about 11,300 photovoltaic solar panels that will generate more than 6 megawatts.
The panels will be installed on the rooves of Alba’s various parking garages, its Spent Pot Lining Treatment Plant, and various other buildings. The photovoltaic cells will cover an area of just over nine acres.
Alba’s CEO Ali Al Baqali said in a press release that his firm is focused on more than just smelting aluminium.
“Our vision goes beyond the Aluminium we produce or the manufacturing processes we rely on. Our ambition today, being the largest smelter in the world ex-China, is to deliver what is best to all our stakeholders: our people, communities, customers and most importantly to the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
“Installing the Solar Farm reflects how our climate strategy ties into our value creation story,” he continued. “Teaming up with our banking partner, BBK, we were able to finance our green project with a green loan in line with our ESG roadmap. Every small step we take collectively, will get us closer to meet Bahrain’s objectives for Net Zero Emissions by 2060.”
BBK’s CEO A. Rahman Saif said his company is happy to aid Alba in its drive to use renewable energy.
“We pledge to support the Kingdom’s comprehensive policies and programs that aspire to improve energy efficiency and steer the country towards the usage of alternative energy sources that promote sustainable development. Alba, one of the largest national industrial firms in the Kingdom of Bahrain, is being supported by BBK to implement state-of-the-art standards for the use of renewable energy. We are honored to support Alba in its mission to become a leader in developing and implementing high-quality projects involving renewable energy sources and to serve as an example of how banks and corporations may collaborate in the field of green.”
Alba is one of the largest industrial companies in the Middle East and is the world’s biggest aluminium smelter outside the People’s Republic of China. Originally incorporated in 1968, the company is based in Bahrain and 84% of its total workforce are Bahraini nationals. It began operations in 1971 with a 120,000 metric ton annual capacity. Modernization bumped the output up to 450,000 metric tons in 1992. In the spring of 2005, Alba opened Line 5, raising output by 860,000 metric tons per year. In 2022 Alba’s smelter produced 1,600,111 metric tons of primary aluminium.
