Oman looks for technical consultant for 500-MW solar project

• The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) has issued a request for proposals (RfP) for technical consultancy services for the advancement of the 500-MW Ibri III solar power project in the northwest of the sultanate.

Interested bidders have until November 8 to buy the tender documents and also the last submission date is December 7, 2022, the OPWP has stated in a statement.

The project is scheduled to get to commercial procedure by the last quarter of 2026.

The new solar park will certainly be built at Ibri in the Al Dhahirah governorate near the 500-MW Ibri II photovoltaic or pv (PV) park which was inaugurated at the beginning of this year. The electricity from Ibri II is fed into the public grid under a 15-year power acquisition agreement (PPA) with OPWC which is the sole off-taker of electricity in the country.

Both large-scale solar plants together with various other intended wind as well as solar projects are focused on helping the Gulf country to expand its power generation. In October, Oman's Ministry of Energy and Minerals claimed it had assigned locations of 20,000 sq km, mainly in the north, for solar and wind energy generation as the country's mounted renewable energy capacity must grow to between 175 GW as well as 185 GW by 2050.