Region’s first utility wind farm in Oman inspected by high profile stakeholders

A senior delegation of government and business dignitaries has witnessed first-hand the steady progress being made in the development of the 50-megawatt Dhofar Wind Farm, the GCC’s first utility-scale wind farm.

Visiting the project site in the southern Dhofar Governorate of Oman yesterday were Hamdan Ali Al Hinai, Chairman of the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company OPWP; Eng Yaqoob Alkyumi, Chief Executive Officer of OPWP; Eng Saleh Al Rumhi, CEO of Tanweer; Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company Masdar; Omar Al Wahaibi, CEO of MANA Holding; Dr Manar Al-Moneef, General Manager, MENA and Turkey of GE Renewable Energy, and high-ranking representatives from Gopa-intec PMC, TSK, and Welayat Shaleem.

The landmark wind farm, which is fully funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development ADFD, the leading national entity for development aid, reflects Oman’s commitment to diversify its energy sources. The project is being implemented by Masdar on behalf of ADFD, through an EPC consortium of GE Renewable Energy and TSK. On completion in the third quarter of this year, the wind farm is expected to generate enough electricity to supply 16,000 homes, equivalent to 7% of the Dhofar Governorate’s total power demand.

Construction began in the first quarter of 2018. Four of the project’s 13 wind turbines have now been installed, and virtually all of the project’s infrastructure has been completed. The remaining wind turbines will be in place by the end of March, before being connected to the grid. Project handover is scheduled for Q3 2019.

Oman Power and Water Procurement Company OPWP will be the off-taker, or purchaser of the generated power, from the Rural Areas Electricity Company of Oman Tanweer, which is responsible for operating the wind power plant upon completion.

GE Renewable Energy is providing the project’s 3.8MW wind turbines that are tailor-made for hot and arid desert conditions, while TSK is responsible for the remainder of the wind farm’s infrastructure and electrical transmission facilities connecting the plant to the grid.

Power demand in the Dhofar Governorate, the largest of Oman’s 11 Governorates, is growing at around 10% annually. Besides helping to meet this demand, the Dhofar Wind farm will offset an estimated 110,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, while reducing reliance on natural gas for domestic power generation.

Further illustrating the positive community impact of renewable energy development, Masdar is building a solar-powered water treatment plant in the nearby city of Fatkhi, as well as a children’s playground. The projects are also expected to be ready by September. Yesterday’s site visit comes less than a month after Saudi Arabia announced that it had selected EDF Renewables and Masdar to develop the Kingdom’s first wind farm, the 400MW Dumat Al Jandal wind project. The total generating capacity of wind energy projects either delivered or under development, in which Masdar is a partner, is around 2 gigawatts.

Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar is advancing the commercialisation and deployment of renewable energy, sustainable urban development and clean technologies to address global sustainability challenges.

Key takeaways

• GE Renewable Energy is providing wind turbines tailor-made for hot and arid desert conditions.
• TSK is responsible for the wind farm’s infrastructure and electrical transmission facilities connecting the plant to the grid.
• Masdar is building a solar-powered water treatment plant in Fatkhi as well as a children’s playground.
• Saudi Arabia announced it had selected EDF Renewables and Masdar to develop the Kingdom’s first wind farm.
• The total capacity of wind energy projects delivered or under development from Masdar is around 2 gigawatts.