Future power plants to include renewables component: RAECO

Conrad Prabhu -

MUSCAT, JULY 5 -

The Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nama Group, has pledged to include a substantial renewable energy component in all of its future power generation schemes — a move that will cement the state-owned utility’s reputation as a green energy pioneer.

RAECO’s remit covers all of the areas of the Sultanate that fall outside of the nation’s two main grids — the Main Interconnected System (MIS), covering much of the northern half of Oman, and the Dhofar Power System (DPS), which supplies electricity to much of Dhofar Governorate. Its footprint includes large swathes of Musandam and Wusta governorates, as well as parts of Dhofar Governorate.

Almost all of RAECO’s electricity output comes from diesel-based generation — a practice the company is looking to change, according to its Chief Executive Officer.

“We have decided to adopt the hybrid approach, involving a combination of diesel-based generation as well as renewables, for all our new projects, going forwards,” said Eng Saleh Nasser al Rumhi (pictured).

“The size of the renewables component and the choice of technology will depend on the project location, among other factors. We will also look to interconnect these (standalone) hybrid plants with the nearby grid — a move that will help us pump surplus output into the network, as well as curtail the use of diesel by drawing power from the grid.”

Speaking to the Observer, Eng Al Rumhi said RAECO’s robust pursuit of renewables is driven by the success of its maiden hybrid venture — a 307kW Solar PV plant that was set up at Al Mazyunah in Dhofar Governorate in 2015.

Seeking to build on that success, the company has since embarked on the development of a commercial-scale wind farm at Harweel in Thamrait in collaboration with Masdar of the United Arab Emirates.

Demonstrating a stronger appetite for the adoption of renewables across its isolated and far-flung network, the utility last month launched a competitive tender aimed at replacing part of its diesel-based generation capacity with renewables. Around 11 existing diesel based plants, distributed across the Sultanate, have been identified for partial replacement with renewables based capacity.

“Our goal is to convert these plants into hybrid models offering at least partial solar PV capacity,” said the CEO. “Towards this end, we have tendered for a consultant to study the overall feasibility, technical elements, and other legal and regulatory aspects of this initiative. The consultant will also make recommendations on the percentage of the capacity to be converted, type of technology that can be tapped, the partnership model on which private players can be invited to invest in the venture, and so on. We believe there is potential to replace 15, 20 or even 25 per cent of the existing diesel-based capacity with renewable based resources.”

Importantly, the hybridization initiative will also position RAECO as a key player as the nation’s seeks to make a greater transition towards renewables based electricity generation.

“It’s an opportunity for RAECO to build capacity in this sector, as well as develop our knowledge and understanding across all aspects of the value chain —encompassing, design, technology, implementation, and so on,” he added.