MUSCAT, JAN 19 - Shell Development Oman has unveiled its renewable energy arm under the brand name ‘Qabas’ in the Sultanate. Qabas’ maiden initiative is a 25 MW solar photovoltaic plant planned for development in Sohar Port, the output of which will be utilised by a major ferrochrome project in operation at the adjoining free zone. “In a major step forward to a brighter future, we have launched our renewable energy arm, ‘Qabas’ at Sohar Port and Freezone with the aim to develop renewable energy projects for Omani industrial users,” said Shell Development Oman in a recent tweet.
The announcement follows an agreement signed by Shell last April for the lease of land for the development of the first commercial-scale solar PV plant in Sohar Port and Freezone. The port has earmarked around 600 hectares of land within the free zone for renewable energy schemes of capacities ranging from 10 to 40 MW. Output from these energy farms which will be channelled to various industries operating either with the free zone or the adjoining industrial port. The overarching objective behind this initiative, say port authorities, is to transform the 4,500 hectare free zone into a ‘green’ zone.
Significantly, Qabas has tapped well-known solar PV specialists Sterling and Wilson Solar Ltd to implement the 25 MW solar PV scheme at the free zone. Sterling and Wilson, the solar engineering and construction arm of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, is billed as the largest solar EPC solutions provider in the India, Africa and Middle East region. It was also listed by IHS Markit as the world’s largest solar EPC solutions provider in 2018, having undertaken over 200 solar power projects with an aggregate capacity of 6,870 MWp around the globe. A key recipient of electricity from Qabas’ solar PV plant is Al Tamman Indsil Ferrochrome, which has established the Sultanate’s first ferrochrome plant in Sohar Freezone. The company is a 50:50 joint venture between Muscat Overseas Group of the Sultanate and Indsil Group of India. Al Tamman Indsil’s ferrochrome smelter, which was commissioned in 2013, has an installed capacity of 75,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of high carbon ferrochrome.
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