The growth of renewable energy in the Sultanate of Oman continues to rise year upon year with the addition of wind projects, small-scale solar projects, as well as large-scale (utility) projects. These projects help to support Oman’s goals of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) 7 percent by 2030.
This is also beneficial for electricity consumers who want to see the country move towards more sustainable sources of energy while reducing dependency on fossil fuels and decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Some consumers are moving beyond this and installing solar panels directly onto their properties to ensure the most direct use of renewable energy and reduction in GHGs that would have come from using energy from the grid. Such emissions from electricity consumption are known as Scope 2 emissions and are a regular part of corporate GHG reporting requirements.
To properly report the use and consumption of renewable energy for a company’s GHG Scope 2 assessment such renewable energy must be validated using an energy attribute certificate (EAC) like renewable energy certificates (RECs) or guarantees of origin (GOs).
Al Madina Logistics Services Company (AMLS) in Barka became the first company in the Sultanate of Oman to register a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) power system with the I-REC Standard Foundation’s international renewable energy tracking system.
Dr Michael Tsang, CEO of Three Pillars Consulting (TPC), which is the I-REC Standard Foundation’s Accredited Issuer of I-REC in Oman, noted that, “I-RECs for electricity are a powerful tool because they allow end-users and energy consumers to make a reliable and meaningful claim that they are consuming clean, carbon-free, renewable energy.”
For instance, each megawatt-hour (MWh) of solar energy that AMLS produces with their system, will generate an I-REC (certificate) that they can use for validating their commitments towards consuming renewable energy, as well as validating their use of zero-emissions electrical energy.
As Oleg Dobrovolsky, Regional Director of the International I-REC Standard Foundation, explains, “This development in the energy market represents an important step in the transition towards innovative renewable energy procurement options. Leveraging transparent, robust and reliable tracking of renewable energy consumption for companies can have a significant positive impact on the electricity generation in Oman.”
“We are proud to be at the forefront of supporting Oman’s renewable energy, supplemented further with this recognition under the I-REC Standard Foundation,” noted Nader Hakim, Group COO of AMLS. “We view our responsibility towards sustainability as an integral part of our logistics service offering, placing high value on CO2 emission reductions through clean energy production. Our 2.1 megawatt (MWdc) solar plant spanning 15,000 square metres was the largest rooftop capacity when energised in April of 2021, and a further step towards our goal of being a net-zero emissions operator.”
The I-REC Standard Foundation (I-REC Standard) is a non-profit organisation that redeveloped the International Attribute Tracking Standard in April 2021 to clarify the roles between the I-REC Standard and market facilitators.
These market facilitators are coordinating with the I-REC Standard to ensure the tracking standard and associated systems are future-proof. One of the recent developments is the implementation of 15-minute granularity timestamping on the certificates to better allow accounting periods associated with Scope 2 emissions to match the temporal reality of end-user consumption. Such features may be necessary, for example, to certify and validate green hydrogen production along its value chain.
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