New PDO wind farms to host 36 turbines

MUSCAT: A pair of wind power projects, announced last week to advance the decarbonisation goals of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), will feature a total of 36 wind turbines each capable of generating an optimal output of 6.5 MW of electricity.

The partnership of OQ Alternative Energy (OQAE), part of Oman’s integrated energy group OQ) and TotalEnergies, has been named as joint developers of the Riyah-1 and Riyah-2 wind farms, each of around 100 MW, that will be built in the south of PDO’s Block 6 concession. PDO is the sole offtaker of renewable power from these two projects.

In new details shared by OQAE over the weekend, Riyah-1 will be built on 445 hectares of leased land in the Wilayat of Shaleem and Al Hallaniyat Islands in Dhofar Governorate. Riyah-2, on the other hand, is planned on a 255-hectare site in the Wilayat of Al Jazir in Al Wusta Governorate.

Each wind farm will boast an installed capacity of 117 MW, with a maximum delivered capacity of 111 MW. Envisioned for installation at each site are 18 turbines with a capacity of 6.5 MW apiece.

According to the project developers, the turbines will stand about 200 metres tall at their highest point, with a hub height of 108 metres and blade length of around 90 metres.

Multinational sustainability consultancy firm Environmental Resources Management (ERM), in partnership with Five Oceans Environmental Services LLC (5OES), an Omani-registered company, was selected by the project developers to prepare an International Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA B) report aligned with international standards.

Significantly, TotalEnergies, with a 49 per cent stake in the partnership with OQAE, is set to expand its presence in Oman’s renewable energy sector. Together with OQAE, the French-based integrated energy giant is developing around 300 MW of renewable capacity for PDO, which includes around 100 MW coming from the North Solar farm planned in Saih Nihayda in North Oman.

TotalEnergies also operates the largest solar photovoltaic system built to provide power for the Sur desalination plant in joint-venture with Veolia.

Furthermore, as part of the development of the Marsa LNG project at Sohar Port — a fully electric liquefaction plant of 1 million metric tonnes per year — TotalEnergies aims to set up a dedicated 300 MWp PV solar plant to supply renewable electricity for this project. Low-carbon LNG output from Marsa LNG will serve as bunker fuel for shipping.