Oman Wires It's all about Oman
Sultanate’s and Gulf region’s very first huge-scale industrial wind power project, the Dhofar Wind Farm is anticipated to grow to be operational by the third quarter of 2019 with all 13 turbines scheduled to be installed by March.
It will provide seven per cent of Dhofar governorate’s electrical energy demand, or adequate clean power to energy an estimated 16,000 houses, although offsetting an estimated 110,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to project developer Masdar, the Abu Dhabi power business.
The project is totally financed by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), and follows an agreement signed in 2014 among Masdar and the Rural Areas Electricity Company of Oman (Tanweer). A Masdar-led consortium which includes GE and Spain’s TSK is creating the wind farm.
Qais al Zakwani, executive director, Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER), visited the web site in Dhofar final week to oversee the essential developments of the ongoing project. Eng Saleh bin Nasser al Rumhi, chief executive officer of Tanweer stated, “We are looking forward to the implementation of this initiative, which will be the first large-scale renewable project in Oman. Our team has worked closely with all the participants to bring this technology to the sultanate and to ensure knowledge transfer in the country.”
Once total, the wind farm will be handed more than to Tanweer, which will then operate the plant and provide the generated electrical energy to the nearby Dhofar energy grid via an overhead energy line managed by the Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC).
The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) will offtake the generated electrical energy from Tanweer in line with a energy obtain agreement (PPA) signed on September 12, 2017. Dr Manar al Moneef, basic manager, GE Renewable Energy for the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey, stated, “The wind farm features our 3.8-130 wind turbine customised to the desert conditions specific to the Gulf region.”
Mohamed Jameel al Ramahi, chief executive officer of Masdar, stated, “As a global leader in wind energy technology, we are proud to support Oman in the realisation of its renewable energy ambitions, and deeply committed to our partnership with Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the world-class consortium delivering this milestone wind energy project on schedule and to the highest operational standard.”
GE is offering the project’s three.8MW wind turbines, although TSK is accountable for the rest of the wind farm’s infrastructure, which contains medium- and higher-voltage substations and 13km of overhead transmission lines. Masdar is the project developer and implementation lead.
Information Source: Muscat Daily
