Masdar appoints Chinese contractor for Oman solar plant

Work is set to start on the 500-megawatt (MW) Ibri III independent solar power project in northwest Oman.

The engineering, procurement and construction contract has been awarded to Chinese state-owned CPECC, the UAE’s Masdar said on social media platform X this week.

In September, Oman’s Nama Power and Water Procurement selected a Masdar-led consortium to develop the $300 million project.

The other members of the group are Oman’s OQ Alternative Energy and Al Khadra Partners, and South Korea’s Midland Power.

The project, which includes a 100-megawatt-hour battery storage system, will span 10 million square metres.

Once operational, the plant will produce enough electricity to power around 33,000 homes while eliminating more than 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, the post said. 

Oman’s first solar project, the 500MW Ibri II, was inaugurated in 2022. The sultanate aims to achieve net-zero gas emissions by 2050 and to produce 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. 

Further reading:

• Morocco steps up solar power drive to meet 2030 target
• The Gulf’s energy transition aims to add, not subtract
• Masdar secures nearly $5bn funding for UK wind farm

In July the Oman Future Fund, a subsidiary of state-owned Oman Investment Authority, and China’s Templewater signed an agreement to launch a $200 million fund to help the Gulf country establish clean energy projects. 

Masdar has a clean energy capacity of over 51 gigawatts (GW) and expects its portfolio to reach more than 100GW by 2030, the company says on its website. It has developed and partnered projects in more than 40 countries, cutting 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Masdar is held 43 percent by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Taqa, 33 percent by Mubadala and 24 percent by Adnoc.