Enertis bags engineer contract for oil-backed 100MW plant in Oman
Image credit: Mzagerp / Flickr
Enertis has stepped up its involvement with a solar project in the Middle East, said to be the world’s first utility-scale scheme to be wholly sponsored by an oil and gas major.
On Thursday, the consultancy said it has landed a contract as the owner’s engineer for the 100MW Amin PV plant in Oman, under development by a Japanese-Omani consortium.
The project planned in the Sultanate’s southwest was commissioned last year by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), with a view to become the sole offtaker once Amin was up and running.
The group – Oman’s top oil and gas exploration and production firm – started taking in bids from developers in January 2018, going on to pick the winners nine months later.
The consortium chosen for a 23-year PPA was led by Marubeni Corporation, including also Oman Gas Company, Bahwan Renewable Energy Company and Modern Channels Services.
Enertis’ inking of an engineer contract emerges as Amin progresses through construction, with a target for the 100MW solar project to launch commercially in May 2020.
The consultancy, servicing renewable projects worldwide from headquarters in Spain, Chile and the US, has already carried out design-stage work for the Omani solar scheme.
In its statement on Wednesday, the firm explained it will “interface the relationship” between Amin’s development company and the EPC contractor.
“Specifically, Enertis is leading and monitoring every technical-related aspect, especially focusing on the approval of the detail design for the project,” the firm said, adding that it has also deployed teams on site to monitor the construction process.
Amin’s sponsors have billed the project as the first utility-scale solar venture ever to be witnessed in Oman, a country with several other major PV initiatives in the works.
The Sultanate wants to add 5GW solar capacity by late 2024 and has launched various tenders – a 500MW batch won by a ACWA-led consortium, plus a more recent 1.1GW push – to that very end.
Understanding bifacial’s true potential: technology innovation and technical bankability of bifacial
The deployment of bifacial PV technology is growing rapidly. It has proven to be the most effective solution to reduce levelised energy costs (LCOE) and increase the Investment Rate of Return (IRR) of PV systems, offering substantially improved energy yield compared to the use of standard mono-facial modules. Even though the concept is not new, it has been a niche technology for many years with uncertainties in predicting performance and optimizing installations. Today, bifacial technology is becoming mainstream, with capacity available at the multi-gigawatt scale and with corresponding global deployment of project pipelines. Join this webinar, presented by Andrea Viaro, as he discusses the award-winning Swan bifacial module with transparent backsheet from DuPont, its features, benefits and differences vs. standard glass-glass modules. Jinko Solar’s new bifacial technology innovations will also be highlighted, specifically covering profitability in deployment at utility-scale PV power plants. Andrea will be joined by Dr.Lars Podlowski who will give a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of bifacial PV technology, with a special focus on benefits and risks industry buyers and investors should pay attention to.
PV ModuleTech
Understand fully the technical and logistical supply chains that determine the production and performance of solar modules, including all related factors impacting quality, reliability & bankability.
Also read...
-
"Largest" Dutch PV project taps blueberries to nail landscape integration
-
Scatec Solar expects annual PV power plant project completions of over 1.5GW from 2022
-
Minister: Mexico’s postponed auction will come when time is right
-
Enel links utility-scale PV plant backed in Spanish 2017 auction
-
Australia's Vic revamps solar planning rules amid rush for state incentives
Comments