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BARHAIN'S green credentials can be put to the test in Sanad where environmentally-friendly street lights have been switched on for action.
The solar-powered lamp-posts throw out a powerful beam that's good enough to lean against and catch up with all the local news in Bahrain's brightest newspaper, GulfWeekly!
The futuristic lights have been installed just off Al Awali Mall and according to Adnan Fakhro, the Electricity and Water Authority's deputy chief executive for distribution and consumer services, the move heralds a 'new era' for the use of solar technology in the kingdom.
The streetlights are able to work independent of the conventional power grid because they are equipped with small panels containing photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into emission and pollution-free electricity.
They do not require costly maintenance work, according to electricity rationalisation chief Rana Saloom, apart from cleaning and dusting the cells. "Each streetlight running is a stand-alone power factory," she added.
It's not the only bright news on the electricity front either as Bahrain will shortly be plugged into a $1.1 billion (BD400m) GCC power grid - a move which is expected to make summer electricity cuts a thing of the past.
Bahrain is included in the first phase of a network known as the Northern Grid alongside Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.
The second phase, called the Southern Grid, will link the UAE with Oman and should be completed in a year. The two grids will ultimately be connected towards the end of 2011.
