Dubai: Twelve companies have been selected to construct five large-scale wind power stations in Oman.
These five projects, set for completion by 2027, will boost Oman’s wind power capacity from 50 megawatt (MW) to 1 gigawatt (GW), a 20 times increase.
The shortlist was created by Nama Power and Water Procurement Company, Oman’s main authority for power and water procurement, from a pool of 16 local and international developers that expressed interest in the $1.3 billion (Dh4.7 billion) investment.
The selected developers include: UAE’s Masdar, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and Al Fanar, France’s TotalEnergies and EDF Renouvelables, Japan’s Sumitomo and Itochu, Singapore’s Sembcorp, Spain’s Elecnor, China’s Goldwind, Hong Kong’s Hero Asia Investment, and Marafiq — a joint venture between Gulf Energy Development from Thailand and OQ, Oman’s leading energy firm.
Oman aims to derive 30 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Currently, the country primarily relies on fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, for its electricity needs. The plan includes wind contributing 20 per cent of the total renewable energy capacity.
Oman’s first wind farm was established in Harweel, located in the Dhofar governorate.
Oman plans to produce 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen each year by 2030 and estimates that it will need around 6,000 wind turbines and 40 million solar panels to support this goal.
