The sole off-taker for all electricity and water projects in Oman, the Nama Power and Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP), plans to add another 2 GW independent power producer (IPP) utility-scale solar PV capacity to its portfolio by 2029 as per its 7-year outlook for power in the region.
Of the 2 GW planned solar additions, Nama PWP seeks to establish MIS Solar IPP 2027 with around 500 MW capacity to come online by 2027. It may be Oman's 5th utility-scale PV project and will be located in Al Wusta region. Procurement activities for this project may not commence until 2024, according to the agency.
The 6th utility-scale PV project for 2029, dubbed Solar PV IPPs 2029, is planned to be developed as 2×500 MW, but conducted as a single procurement process. Its total capacity may be amended in the future though. Procurement activities will not take effect until 2025.
All of these projects will be preceded by the Ibri III Solar IPP with around 500 MW solar PV capacity. Nama PWP plans to launch the request for qualification (RFQ) round in Q3/2023 while aiming to achieve its COD in Q4/2026.
Previously known as Oman PWP or OPWP, Nama PWP has already signed offtake agreement for 500 MW operational Ibri II Solar IPP.
Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) and a consortium of Sembcorp Industries and Jinko Power won the Manah I Solar and Manah II Solar IPPs with 500 MW capacity each with Nama PWP, in March 2023 (see Oman Picks KOWEPO For 500 MW Solar Power Plant).
All of the planned solar PV capacity is pegged to come up the main power systems of the Main Interconnected System (MIS) and Duqm Power System. Beyond solar, the offtaker has other wind, waste-to-energy and water projects also planned to be added to its portfolio by 2029.
"Over the next seven years, PWP1 is committed to achieve ambitious goals to diversify the sources of electricity generation. New solar and wind projects are projected to contribute almost 11% of electricity production by 2025, and efficient utilization of gas consumption will continue to improve over the planning horizon," states Nama PWP in the 7-year statement according to which the share of solar and wind is further expected to increase to around 30% by 2029.
Solar is expected to account for 10.5 GW total installed power generation capacity of Oman by 2029, next to 33 GW of gas-fired capacity.
To deal with the intermittency of renewable energy resources, Nama PWP also aims to use a combination of wind and solar PV development. It is also exploring the feasibility of energy storage.
The overarching ambition for Nama PWP is to have the clean energy technologies support the region's transition from a gas-based electricity system to a mixed system with a high renewable energy share—especially solar energy—that's consistent with the Oman Vision 2040.
Oman aims to have renewable energy generation account for 35% to 39% of its total power mix by 2040.
Nama PWP's 17th edition of its 7-Year Statement, covering the period from 2023 to 2029, is available on its website.