$1.6bn worth solar power projects on anvil

A portfolio of large-scale solar-based renewable energy projects planned for implementation at key locations in the Sultanate will attract investments to the tune of around RO 616 million ($1.6 billion) over the next five years, according to Oman’s energy authorities.

These commercial utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) based schemes are key to accelerating Oman’s transition away from gas-based electricity generation, said a report by the Implementation Support & Follow-up Unit (ISFU), a task force operating under the auspices of the Diwan of Royal Court with the mandate to drive the Sultanate’s economic diversification strategy.

“In order to achieve the goal of a power source mix away from conventional fuel, the Sultanate can leverage on its solar energy as one of the main resources to generate power. Studies conducted by the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) have proven the feasibility of executing such projects, as the rate of abundance of solar energy in the Sultanate is among the highest rates in the world,” ISFU stated in its report.

According to ISFU, four utility-scale solar based projects offering a total capacity reaching 1600 MW are proposed to be developed over the next five years.

The first — dubbed ‘Ibri IPP’ (Independent Power Project) — is sized at around 500 MW and will be operational by 2022. This will be followed by ‘Solar 2022’ and ‘Solar 2023’, each of 500 MW, and due to come on stream by 2022 and 2023 respectively.

While these three schemes are planned for development in the wilayats of Ibri (Dhahirah Governorate) and Manah and Adam (Al Dakhiliyah Governorate), Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is procuring a 100 MW solar power plant at Amin in the south of its concession. This project is scheduled for launch by 2020, the report said.

Key stakeholders in these renewable energy schemes are: Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW), Authority for Electricity Regulation, Oman Electricity Transmission Company, Nama Holding, Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs and Royal Oman Police. The Lead Implementers are Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) and Petroleum Development Oman.