High-end wind turbines for Dhofar wind farm

Multinational conglomerate General Electric (GE) will supply top-of-the-line wind turbines for Oman’s first wind farm project due to be established at Harweel in Dhofar Governorate. The 3.8MW wind turbines selected by developer Masdar, the renewable energy company of Abu Dhabi, represent part of a new generation of high-end systems introduced by Massachusetts-USA based GE for the global market. A total of 13 wind turbines will be installed as part of the 50MW Dhofar Wind Power Project, a key contract for which was inked last month. Masdar, which is developing the scheme — the first large-scale wind-based power generation venture in the Gulf — in partnership with Oman’s Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO), named the consortium of GE and Spain’s TSK Grupo as Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) contractors for the project. According to GE, the 3.8MW platform offers a significantly higher annual energy production (AEP) rate and greater flexibility across wind regimes. A leading supplier of onshore and offshore wind solutions, the US-based international corporation has more than 30,000 wind turbines installed around the world. Spanish industrial group TSK has been selected by Masdar to support GE in the implementation of the Dhofar Wind Power Project. A specialist in renewables, with more than three decades of experience in this domain, TSK often teams up with GE in the development of renewable energy projects. With a presence in over 35 countries around the world, and over 1,000 professionals on its rolls, the Group generates revenues in excess of one billion euros annually. RAECO, which is responsible for electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply in areas that lie outside of the Main Interconnected System (MIS) and Dhofar Power System, is the owner of the Wind Farm project. Earlier, in an interview to the Observer published in June, Eng Saleh Nasser al Rumhi, Chief Executive Officer, RAECO, said: “RAECO will own the project once it is constructed and handed over to us. We will also operate the project and sell electricity to Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) via the 132kv grid in southern part of the country.” OPWP, the sole procurer of new electricity generation and water desalination capacity, recently announced the formation of a joint task force with the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) to support the development of wind-based power projects in the Sultanate. The move promises to impart stronger impetus to the government’s strategy for harnessing renewable energy resources for power generation. Conrad Prabhu