Meed | Oman 500MW solar project secures financing

Oman 500MW solar project secures financing

8 December 2023

Oman's Manah 1 solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power producer (IPP) project has signed financing deals worth $302m with France's Societe Generale, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) and Bank Muscat.

The Manah 1 IPP developers and investors, comprising Korea Western Power Company (Kowepo) and France's EDF Renewables, signed the deal on 6 December.

According to a local media report citing a Kowepo statement, the Korea Eximbank plans to provide $170m in project financing.

A team comprising EDF Renewables and Kowepo started mobilising to construct the 500MW Manah 1 solar IPP project in Oman, as MEED reported in September.

The solar power plant will span over 7.8 square kilometres in Oman’s Al-Dakhiliyah governorate.

The developer intends to deploy over 1 million bifacial photovoltaic (PV) modules mounted on a single-axis tracker system for the plant.

A project company, Wadi Noor Solar Power Company, has been formed to deliver and operate the project for 20 years.

The company will work with Australia-headquartered Worley, which has recently been appointed as the owner engineer for the project.

Oman Power & Water Procurement Company (OPWP) signed the 20-year power-purchase agreements (PPA) for the Manah 1 and Manah 2 solar IPP projects in March this year.

Both plants are expected to be operational by 2025.

A team of Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) and China-headquartered Jinko Power Technology was awarded the 500MW Manah 2 solar PV IPP contract.

Manah 1 and 2 were previously named Solar IPP 2022 and 2023.

To be located 150 kilometres southwest of Muscat, the Manah 1 and 2 solar projects comprise the second utility-scale renewable energy projects to be tendered by OPWP, after Ibri 2, which has been operational since 2021.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo