People in southern Yemen are being challenged by a tough electricity crisis. Blackouts have been lasting up to 22 consecutive hours amid temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, triggering serious public unrest in the country.
But in a recent promising development, citizens in the southern governorate of Aden – the provincial capital of Yemen – are celebrating the inauguration of a solar energy station, the country’s first strategic project fully funded by the UAE.
On Monday, the Yemeni government announced the full-scale entry of the plant. It is the first of a series of UAE projects in Yemen to advance the electricity sector. The station is at the forefront of developing sustainable solutions to the country’s blackouts.
UAE, Yemen deepen focus on environmental protection
The government in Yemen recently held an official inauguration ceremony for the UAE-supported solar energy station. More than 2,000 professionals got involved in the project over a total of 1.3 million hours and not a single person sustained injuries.
The ceremony featured a photo gallery and documentary film representing more than 211,000 solar panels, over 900 km of electrical cable, 43,000 pits and metal structures, 12 substations and 9 km of high-voltage lines on a 1.6 million square metre site and construction.
Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak highlighted that the project is one of the most important strategic clean energy projects and demonstrates the great commitment of both countries to environmental protection and the outcomes of climate summits.
Milestone in UAE’s support for betterment of Yemenis
It is hoped that shifting from expensive and polluting fossil fuels can provide a more sustainable energy solution for the region and facilitate more and more clean energy initiatives in the country, improving energy security and environmental sustainability.
Yemen and the UAE inked the agreement to establish the solar station in December 2022. During the recent inauguration ceremony, PM bin Mubarak thanked the “generous support of our brothers in the UAE for the implementation of the project.”
Yemeni officials have extended their thanks to UAE President HH Sheikh Mohamed and the generous people of the Gulf state. The sustainable solar energy station is a milestone in the UAE’s support for the betterment of the Yemeni people amid the country’s difficult situation.
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