Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from international firms eager to participate in a competitive tender for a 100 MW utility scale solar photovoltaic project to be located in Amin in southern Oman. The project is the second such utility-scale solar PV venture unveiled in as many weeks, and underscores a rapidly intensifying push towards renewable and sustainable energy resource development in the Sultanate. The project is set to be majority government-owned PDO’s first renewable energy venture being developed as an Independent Power Producer (IPP). Electricity output from the plant will be lifted by PDO as the sole offtaker under a 23-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the developer.
The successful bidder will be awarded a long-term concession to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the solar plant for the duration of the PPA term. “It is envisaged that the Project will be privately financed through a combination of sponsor and third party equity and non / limited recourse debt under a similar structure to previous IPPs. It is intended that PDO will sign a direct agreement with the Project’s lenders setting out financial commitments,” said PDO in a backgrounder on the project.
Competitive tendering and procurement of the solar project is envisaged under the Independent Power Producer (IPP) structure, which has served as the model for the procurement of almost all of the 6,000 MW of gas-based power generation capacity currently in place around Oman. According to a timeline drawn up by PDO for the implementation of the project, a Request for Proposals (RfP) will be issued before the end of this month, with the award of a concession slated in June this year. A two-year timeframe is envisioned for the construction phase.
Conrad Prabhu
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