Masdar To Develop 50 MW Wind Farm in Oman

The Sultanate of Oman will have a 50 megawatt (MW) wind project online in early 2017. Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, signed a joint development agreement with the Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO) to build the first large-scale wind farm in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The wind farm will be built in the country’s Dhofar Governorate. It is estimated that it will produce enough electricity to power 16,000 homes. It will represent seven percent of total installed power generation capacity in the Dhofar region or about 50 percent of Dhofar’s winter energy use. Consisting of up to 25 wind turbines, the wind farm will have a daily production estimated to be 1,200 megawatt hours (MWh). Construction will start in the last quarter of 2015, and Masdar will fund the $125 million project.

The Middle East region is “rapidly adopting renewable energy as a viable solution to meet growing electricity demands and to address long-term resource security," said H.E Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and chairman of Masdar. Al Jaber sees the Oman wind project as being a “prime example of how clean energy can deliver reliable power supplies and improve energy security, while also supporting a transition to a low-carbon future.”

"The United Arab Emirates is a first mover," said Al Jaber, "and the country is extending its global energy leadership through the deployment of wind and solar power domestically and internationally. Through Masdar, the UAE is proving that renewables are both competitive commercially and essential to diversifying the global energy mix."

Masdar's other renewable energy projects

Masdar has developed other renewable energy projects, including some in the Middle East. The Masdar City Solar PV Plant is the largest photovoltaic solar plant in the Middle East. It produces about 17,500 MWh of power a year. A concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Abu Dhabi called Shams 1 has a capacity of 100 MW. It contributes towards Abu Dhabi’s goal of seven percent renewable energy power generation capacity by the year 2020. the CSP plant went online in 2013.

Masdar has developed renewable energy projects in other regions. It developed three CSP plants that are either built or under construction in Spain: the 20 MW Gemasolar plant and the Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants, which each have a capacity of 50 MW. The three projects are a joint venture between Sener and Masdar.

The Port Victoria Wind Power Project is the first large-scale renewable energy project in the Seychelles. The 750 kilowatt wind farm off the coast of Mahe has eight wind turbines. Before the wind farm started operating, the Seychelles was completely dependent on imported fossil fuels for its energy generation. The wind farm, which came online in 2013, produces enough energy to power over 2,100 homes or eight percent of Mahe Island’s grid capacity. It contributes towards the Seychelles energy goal of producing 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Photo: Masdar