A consortium led by UAE-based renewable energy developer Masdar has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Nama Power and Water Procurement (PWP) to develop Oman’s first utility-scale solar and battery storage project, the company said on Monday.

The consortium – comprising Masdar, OQ Alternative Energy, Al Khadra Partners and Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) – will build the Ibri III Solar Independent Power Project (IPP), combining a 500-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic plant with a 100 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS),  Masdar said in a press statement.

Once operational, the 115 million Omani rial ($299 million) Ibri III is expected to supply enough electricity to power about 33,000 homes while avoiding nearly 505,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, the statement said.

The project will contribute up to an additional 4 percent of renewable energy in Oman's total electricity generation mix, it added.

The 500MW Ibri II solar PV IPP has been operational since 2021.

Oman Vision 2040 targets 30 percent of the nation’s electricity generation from renewables by 2030.

Nama Power and Water Procurement plans to add renewable energy capacities of up to 9 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, representing around 60 percent of contracted capacities to ensure the achievement of 30 percent generation of electricity from renewable sources.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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