MUSCAT: Building on its pioneering and broad-based renewable energy development strategy, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO0, the biggest oil and gas producer in the Sultanate of Oman, has progressed plans for the development of a pair of wind power projects to support its transition into a low-carbon energy company.
Also making headway is a separate initiative centring on the development of a utility-scale solar PV based Independent Power Project (IPP), integrated with a first-ever battery energy storage system (BESS), at Qarn Alam in its Block 6 concession.
Majority state-owned PDO said in a new report on Wednesday that a Request for Proposals (RfP) for two wind power projects, each of about 100 MW capacity, will be floated this year.
Plans for the two wind farms, dubbed ‘Riyah-1 and Riyah-2, were green-lighted following the completion of a feasibility study and site measurement campaign that had concluded that PDO’s concession had “excellent wind potential with an average speed of 8 metres/second”.
While Riyah-1 is targeted for completion by Q2 2026, Riyah-2 is expected to be ready by Q4 2026. Their operationalization will help PDO meet its goal of securing around 30 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2026.
Plans for a new solar PV based IPP of around 100 MW capacity are also being firmed up for development over the next couple of years. Dubbed the ‘North Solar Storage IPP, the proposed project will be broadly modelled on PDO’s landmark 100 MW Amin Solar PV IPP, which came into operation in the south of the company’s concession in May 2020. It was PDO’s – as well as Oman’s – first utility-scale solar PV project.
This time around, PDO’s North Solar Storage IPP at Qarn Alam near Saih Nihayda will include – also for the first time in Oman – a battery energy storage system (BESS), sized to supply and store electrical energy and deliver a maximum 100-MW peak power into the company’s grid during daylight hours. This stored energy will be fed back into the grid continuously until daybreak the following day.
“This system will use a PV single-axis tracking battery energy storage based on lithium-Ion battery technology. This daily cycle will then be repeated for each day of the year throughout the project’s term. The developer will be encouraged to optimise the design of the plant and offer the lowest tariffs for the delivery of electrical energy at the delivery point,” the company explained, adding that the project is slated to come on stream in 2025.
Significantly, the Amin Solar IPP located near Nimr is also the world’s first utility-scale solar project to have an oil and gas company as the sole buyer of electricity. As of end-2022, it had generated more than 800,000 MWh of renewable energy, helping substitute supply from gas-based generation and thereby reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well.
Further, as part of its broader decarbonisation strategy, PDO is set to commission solar ground-mounted systems at three of its internal airports at Marmul, Qarn Alam and Fahud this year. “The project is a first of its kind and will produce and channel green electricity to cover the airports’ electrical load during the daytime. It will boast a total installed capacity of 609 kW,” the company stated.
Also continuing apace are initiatives to expand its solar car park capacity at the Mina Al Fahal headquarters, commission solar rooftop systems at other PDO-owned buildings and infrastructure.
SOURCE: OMAN DAILY OBSERVER
DATE: 31 Aug 2023
