MUSCAT -- Ten international and local firms have submitted firm bids for a prestigious contract to advise the government on the implementation of a large-scale solar power project in the Sultanate. The bidding line-up comprises Fichtner Consulting Engineers, Ernst & Young, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, WorleyParsons Oman Engineering, IRPO Dresden, Advance Mechanical Engineering Consultants, Tramatta TechnoAmbiental, Poyry Energy, and Dar Al Handasah.
International interest in Oman's maiden foray into commercial-scale renewable energy development has been huge since the government announced its intention to appoint a consultant to assist the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) in the development of a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project. A record 58 firms collected bid documents when the tender was first floated in April. Bid offers were opened last week.
The selected consultant's main brief is to study the feasibility of establishing a CSP from various standpoints -- technical, financial and legal. Plant capacity is envisaged at anything between 50 MW and 200 MW, which despite being modest compared to gas-based power projects, is still significantly large-scale by current world standards. The optimum size of the project however will be determined by the PAEW based on the recommendations of the appointed consultant.
As part of its feasibility study, the consultant will provide a detailed assessment of existing solar power projects, as well as details of ownership structures and commercial arrangements with regard to existing operations around the world. Additionally, the consultant will be required to review the experience of solar power technologies currently in vogue, installed capacities of existing plants, and the reliability of such technologies and projects.
The consultant will also recommend suitable sites for the establishment of the project. Solar power generation capacities, technology options and configurations will also be discussed in the study. Further, in co-ordination with Oman Power and Water Procurement Co (OPWP), Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) and the Ministry of Housing, among other bodies, the consultant will identify a shortlist of suitable locations for a proposed solar power project.
In addition, the study will evaluate the benefits of combining power generation and water desalination at a solar power facility, as well as the benefits of integrating conventional power generation technologies with solar power generation. Other key finance and investor related issues will be examined in the study as well. For example, the consultant will provide its assessment of the current conditions in the market for a privately financed solar power project, as well as the markets for debt and equity for large-scale renewable projects in particular. Besides, the selected consultant will undertake a detailed financial and economic evaluation of alternative technologies and capacity ranges of potential solar power projects in Oman.
By Conrad Prabhu
© Oman Daily Observer 2009
