MUSCAT, MARCH 19
Two independent Omani companies operating in the renewables space have announced a collaboration to support the delivery of a sizable portfolio of small-scale solar PV based projects for a number of public and private sector customers.
Muscat-based Solar Wadi and Nafath Renewable Energy, both well-established players in the solar PV segment, signed a framework agreement during Oman Sustainability Week (OSW), which took place at Oman Convention and Exhibition. The pact was inked in the presence of Eng Salim bin Nasser al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals.
The pact commits the two sides to collaborating in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a portfolio of private-wire solar PV projects of an aggregate capacity of around 30 megawatt-peak (MWp).
[‘Private-wire’ projects are those that are not directly linked to the grid, but are connected to the consumer via a privately owned transmission line.]
“This is the first of a number of 25-30 MWp portfolios of projects planned as part of this collaboration between our two Omani companies to serve the Commercial & Industrial sector within Oman,” said Solar Wadi in a post.
“Each portfolio comprises of a number of individual private-wire distributed generation solar PV plant ranging in scales of 1 to 15 MWp and using various application types (roof, ground, car-park, wadi etc.) to reach the combined 25-30 MWp capacity,” it further stated.
The announcement attests to a burgeoning uptake of mainly solar-based power generation by a diverse mix of industrial, commercial, agricultural, retail and hospitality-based customers to help, on the one hand, offset the cost of subsidy-free electricity supply from the grid, and on the other, to meet their sustainability goals.
According to Solar Wadi, the collaboration will also enable local and international businesses to embrace renewable energy to improve their competitiveness and achieve their environment goals as well.
Additionally, this switch to green energy will help Oman achieve its goal to source around 40 per cent of its power requirements from renewable resources by 2040, the company noted.
Majority owned by Omani shareholders, Solar Wadi was established by a group of pension funds, Omani investors and international solar developers.
Together with the team behind Solar Wadi, the shareholders have delivered over RO 2 billion worth of renewable energy projects over the last 20 years.
Last month, the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) signed a usufruct contract with Wadi Solar for the allocation of land within Suhar Industrial City for the installation of a 100 MW capacity solar PV project. The project will be established as part of Madayn’s strategy to provide a large part of the energy needs of its tenants from a sustainable source of renewable energy.
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