Renaissance reaches new horizons with biggest solar power project in Oman

The Undersecretary of Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas, Salim bin Nasser bin Said Al Aufi recently inaugurated the Pilot Solar Project at the Renaissance Permanent Accommodation for Contractors (PAC) in Fahud.

The opening was in the presence of Sayyid Tarik bin Shabib bin Taimur Al Said, who is renowned in Oman for his championship of environmental conservation. He is the patron of the Environment Society of Oman.

The innovative project consists of 4,000 polycrystalline solar panels designed as a 10,000 sq. m of shaded car parking. The novel concept saves additional design and structural costs, while generating up to 2.2 million kWh of renewable energy annually, meeting almost all of the facility’s daytime electricity needs.

The project’s environmental benefit includes reduction of 1,500 MT carbon emissions annually, which is equivalent to planting 580 acres of trees or not driving 4.5 million kilometres.

“At Renaissance we ensure we carry out our business in a responsible and sustainable manner. And this solar project is the latest and most important statement of our stewardship of the environment. How we conduct our business is important to all of us. It matters to our customers, our investors, the communities in which we serve, and it matters to all of us who work in the

company,” said Renaissance Services Managing Director Ananda Fernando. “This initiative meets our long-term strategy to enhance energy efficiency at our PAC and reduce our overall carbon footprint,” he added.

Speaking at the inauguration, Salim Al Aufi commented, “We definitely give top priority to develop alternative energy. Presently, Oman is using quite a lot of gas to generate power and our consumption is going up by 10% on an annual basis. So we need to concentrate on renewable energy, not necessarily as a cost effective way of generating power but as a strategic way to develop the technical knowhow and further develop it to make it more cost effective in the future. Renaissance Pilot Solar Project at Fahud is by far the biggest solar power project in Oman. I hope Renaissance will continue to develop the project for everyone else to follow.”

The event was also attended by Petroleum Development Oman’s Managing Director Raoul Restucci, who said: “Renaissance is setting standards in the development of alternative energy.  PDO has a number of projects on the anvil. Value of projects that generate alternative energy is huge for Oman. Installing this project is economically very important for the country.”

Renaissance operates PACs across Oman, with total annual electricity requirement of around 40 million kWh. “Based on the results of this Pilot Project, we plan to extend the solar

solution to our other PACs around the country,” the Renaissance MD Fernando confirmed.

Renaissance also has four other PACs in Marmul, Bahja, Nimr and Qarn Alam. If extended to the four other PACs, the potential

annual electricity savings will be 10 million kWh or 30% and a reduction in carbon emissions by 6,800 tons. 

The potential for solar power is high in the Sultanate, with its high ratio of ‘sky clearness’ and one of the highest solar energy densities in the world. Moreover, His Majesty’s ‘Vision 2020’ strategy envisions up to 10% of Oman’s total electricity requirement to be met by renewable energy sources.

The visiting dignitaries toured the PAC facility – itself a pioneering model that turns the challenge of accommodating large workforces into an opportunity by leveraging economies of scale to deliver high standards of comfort, safety and service, and thereby, contributing to higher workforce productivity. 

In preparation of the Solar PV solution, Renaissance considered several key factors. Among them were varying requirements during summer and winter months; non availability of net-metering/PPA options; commercial non-feasibility of power storage methods (i.e. battery bank) and meeting of internal daytime requirements.

During the trials, it was proved that the efficiency of Solar PV at Fahud facility was 35% as against the global average of 15-20%.

Going forward Renaissance will monitor the performance and gather data over next 1 year and consider collaboration options with others. It is also open to design, develop and implement similar projects for others as well as explore other areas of reducing Renaissance’s carbon footprint to enhance the sustainability drive.

Expertise of Sri Lanka’s Votum Energy 

The engineering, procurement and construction of the Renaissance Solar PV pilot project was done by Sri Lanka’s Votum Energy Ltd, part of Australian-based renewable and solar PV consulting and EPC company.

The company’s CEO and Chief Engineer Ananda Sebastian said: “Renaissance wanted a cost-effective, multi-purpose and practical solution. 

Given that Oman has one of the highest levels of sky clearness and one of the highest solar energy densities in the world we worked with the Renaissance team in a way to harness this energy and reduce daytime reliance on the grid.”

“Votum Energy is proud to be a part of this landmark project in Oman,” added Votum Energy Chairman Errol Weerasinghe. 

“Considering the high tariff rate in Sri Lanka in comparison to Oman, we hope that our Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka who has a green energy vision for Sri Lanka will reinvigorate some of the proposed solar farms,” Weerasinghe added.