Omani firm to set up 100 MV solar PV project in Suhar

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MUSCAT: Omani independent renewables-based power company Solar Wadi has announced that it has secured a license to set up a commercial-scale solar PV power project catering to the green energy requirements of Suhar Industrial City – one of the biggest manufacturing hubs of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn).

The proposed project, sized at between 86 – 100 MWp of capacity, aims to provide the tenants of Suhar Industrial City “with a cheaper source of electricity, while also allowing them to meet their decarbonization targets thereby maintaining their competitive advantage”, Muscat-based Solar Wadi said.

An area of over 1 million square metres has been earmarked within Phase 7 of the Suhar Industrial City plan for the installation of vast arrays of solar panels and other facilities linked to the project.

As part of a competitive tender launched by Solar Wadi earlier this month, qualified companies have been invited to submit Expressions of Interest (EoI) to register their interest in bidding for the contract to implement the solar PV scheme. The deadline for submission of EoIs is January 26, 2023.

The successful bidder will receive a contract for the design, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of the solar PV project in Suhar.

According to an indicative procurement timeline disclosed by Solar Wadi, a Request for Proposals (RfP) is expected to be issued to suitably qualified bidders as early as February 2, 2023. A shortlist of preferred bidders is anticipated by around May, culminating in an award soon thereafter.

Significantly, the entire electricity output from the project is earmarked exclusively for use by the tenants of Suhar Industrial City, with no option for any portion of this supply to be injected into the main grid. Plant capacity could be increased through the addition of energy storage systems, Solar Wadi noted.

Ranked among the largest private developers of renewable-based power capacity in the Sultanate of Oman, Solar Wadi is backed by a group of pension funds, Omani investors and international solar developers. The company’s promoters have, between them, delivered over $5.5 billion of renewable energy investments across a number of countries over the past 20 years.