Preliminary work on an ambitious solar manufacturing project backed by JA Solar Technology, one of China’s top-ranked players operating in this space, has commenced at Sohar Freezone in the northeast of Oman.
Shanghai-headquartered JA Solar announced last month that it plans to invest 3.96 billion yuan (equivalent to about $540 million) in a world-scale facility in the Sultanate of Oman, with an annual capacity of 6-gigawatt high-efficiency solar cells and 3-gigawatt high-power solar modules.
Already, a number of local and international consulting firms are on the ground in Oman to help with the initial conceptualization and development of the landmark project.
Well-known Chinese engineering services firm KIDE International has been retained by the client to oversee the overall project design and engineering. An acronym for China Kide Engineering Corporation, KIDE is a global EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) service provider in the technology industry chain, with its headquarters in Chengdu, and branch offices in Shanghai, Xi'an and Kuala Lumpur, and multiple subsidiaries overseas.
Earlier this week, leading electrical and energy services firm Monenco Consulting Engineers (Oman) announced that it has been contracted by KIDE to undertake an ‘Electrical System Study for Power Supply’ to JA Solar’s project site in Sohar Freezone.
As part of the contract, Monenco will undertake the transmission line survey, design, tender supervision, design review and bid evaluation part of the power supply project up to the site of a proposed substation at the JA Solar site. The duration of the Electrical System Study and Transmission Line Design is about four months.
Monenco, licensed by Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) to provide a range of electrical consultancy services to industrial, commercial and other large customers, was also tapped earlier by United Solar Polysilicon for the provision of services linked to its $1.3 billion polysilicon production venture at Sohar Freezone.
JA Solar’s impending debut in Oman will represent a major boost for the Sultanate’s Net Zero strategy. Oman’s requirement of solar modules to meet its substantive renewable energy and green hydrogen development goals is prodigious.
A major manufacturer of high-performance photovoltaic products, JA Solar oversees a network of manufacturing bases and 13 sales subsidiaries around the world. The company’s business portfolio covers silicon wafers, cells, modules and PV power stations. By the end of Q2 2024, the cumulative shipment of JA Solar reached a sizable 224GW.
Over the past 12 months, Oman has attracted investment pledges aggregating over $2.5 billion in a trio of silicon and solar manufacturing projects – all backed by Chinese players. In addition to investments by JA Solar and United Solar Polysilicon, leading Chinese solar manufacturer Jietai Solar announced last October the signing of a land lease agreement for the establishment of a major solar call manufacturing project at Sohar Freezone. Jietai, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology Co, plans to invest around $700 million to support the production of 5 GW of high-efficiency solar cells per annum.
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