Marking a key phase in the development of a first-of-its-kind Waste to Energy project in the Sultanate, the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the sole procurer of new power and water capacity, has invited international consultancy firms to bid for contracts for the provision of advisory services linked to the implementation of the landmark scheme.
Interested consultants have until November 14, 2018 to bid for technical, commercial and legal advisory services contracts. Successful bidders will be part of a consortium of consultants that will advise state-owned OPWP — a member of Nama Group — on the competitive process leading to the selection of a developer to build the Waste-to-Energy scheme as an Independent Power Project (IPP).
According to OPWP, the proposed Waste to Energy project will use around 1.4 million tonnes of waste per annum as a fuel resource. Earlier announcements by the power procurer envisaged a generation capacity of around 50 MW with the waste sourced from landfills operated by be’ah — the Sultanate’s solid waste management flagship — in Muscat and Al Batinah South Governorates. Barka is seen as an ideal location for the establishment of the project.
The venture, OPWP said, will help support Oman’s fuel diversification strategy away from the nation’s current dependence of natural gas as the fuel resource for the bulk of its electricity and desalinated water requirements. Additionally, the move will aid be’ah’s goal to reduce the disposal of prodigious amounts of potentially calorific-rich municipal waste into landfills.
“This project would be competitively procured as an IPP, under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with OPWP, using municipal solid waste supplied by be’ah. OPWP expects it to be a continuously operating plant, i.e., baseload supply, with guaranteed capacity similar to supply from the gas-fired power plants currently under contract with OPWP,” said OPWP in its latest 7-Year Outlook Statement for the 2018-2024 timeframe. In coordination with be’ah and the Authority for Electricity Regulation Oman (AER), OPWP also commissioned a study to assess the techno-economic and commercial feasibility of establishing a Waste to Energy plant in Barka.
The study was due to be completed in August.
“Subject to approval, OPWP expects to issue the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in Q4 2018, a Request for Proposals (RFP) in Q1 2019, and to award the project in Q3 2019 for Commercial Operation (COD) in Q4 2022,” the power procurer added.
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