Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) recently installed solar panels in car parks at Mina Al Fahal to provide power for PDO’s office buildings.
The 6MWp solar project will generate 9,480,000kWh per year, and was officially inaugurated under the auspices of H E Mohammed bin Salim Al Tobi, Oman’s Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs.
The renewable energy scheme was executed as a joint venture by Spanish company Elecnor S A in partnership with Omani firm Rukun Al Yaqeen International. It involved installing a total of 19,500 solar photo voltaic (PV) modules to the canopies of 2,054 parking lots and is the largest solar scheme at a single location in Oman spanning an area of 37,830sq m. The solar plant requires minimum effort to operate and maintain at negligible operating costs for a projected 25 year life cycle.
According to a press release, the move will save over 3.1mn cubic metres of gas a year, enough to provide electricity for almost 1,000 home, and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 6,662 tonnes annually, the equivalent of taking more than 1,400 cars off the road or planting almost 173,000 trees.
The ceremony was attended by Raoul Restucci, managing director, PDO and other prominent officials.
H E Tobi commended PDO for its environmentally conscious and forward thinking approach in finding alternative sources for energy especially at a time characterised by economic challenges.
He said, “No doubt this project will contribute to protecting the environment and reducing harmful emissions and electricity consumption. It is one of the first projects in the sultanate to utilise solar energy at this scale alongside the Miraah project in the Amal oilfield, which is the biggest in the region.
“We look forward to the completion of the other phases in Mina Al Fahal and perhaps to similar projects in the concession area as well.”
