The $400-million solar power plant aims to generate 1,300 GWh of power annually.
Mid-2021 launch date for Oman’s mega solar plant
01 September 2020
Oman has announced that the country’s largest solar power plant, Ibri II – that can power up to 33,000 homes and remove 340,000 tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide emissions from the sultanate’s footprint – is slated to start operations by the mid-2021.
Located near Ibri, the capital of the Dhahirah Governorate, the plant is being built at a cost of $400 million, and will generate about 1,300 gigawatt hours (GWh) of power annually, reported the Oman Observer.
Construction of the power plant began in the second quarter and, once completed, it will supply power to the government-run Oman Power and Water Procurement Company, it stated.
Oman Ibri II power plant is being developed by Acwa Power and two Kuwaiti companies – Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) and Alternative Energy Projects Company – with funding being arranged on a build-own-operate basis, with a 70:30 debt to equity ratio.
As per the deal, Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will offer 16.5-year loans along with state-controlled entities Bank Muscat, in Oman, Riyad Bank, in Saudi Arabia, and sharia-compliant Kuwaiti lender Warba Bank. London-based Standard Chartered Bank, and Germany’s Siemens Bank complete the line-up of lenders, said the report.
The project is also part of the sultanate’s efforts to diversify its sources of energy, which are primarily derived from fossil-fuel based products such as oil and natural gas, which is part of the country’s Tanfeedh plans for economic expansion, it added.
- Mid-2021 launch date for Oman’s mega solar plant
- Fluor JV completes Kuwait clean fuels project
- Low oil prices, Covid ‘hit Mideast capital projects’
- Bahrain Water Garden Phase Two work on track
- Madayn to establish Oman Nano City
- Sector sees recovery; $11.6bn new projects
