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Oman's Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP) has prequalified companies that can bid for the contracts to develop and operate five wind independent power producer (IPP) projects in the sultanate.

The five planned IPPs will have a maximum total combined capacity of about 1,006MW. 

Three of the planned wind IPPs will cater to Oman's Main Interconnection System (MIS). These are:

• Jalan Bani Bu Ali Wind IPP: Located in South Sharqiyah Governate, the wind farm will have a capacity of  91MW-105MW with a commercial operation target of Q1 2027
• Duqm Wind IPP: Located in Ras Madrakah in Duqm, the project will have a capacity of 234MW-270MW, with commercial operations expected in Q4 2027
• Mahoot Wind 1 IPP: Located in Mahoot in Al-Wusta Governate, the wind farm will have a capacity of 342MW-400MW, with a commercial operation target of Q4 2027 

Two wind IPPs will cater to the smaller Dhofar Power System (DPS):

• Dhofar Wind 2 IPP: Adjacent to the existing Dhofar Wind 1 IPP in Shaleem and Al-Hallaniyat Islands in Dhofar Governate, the plant will have a capacity of 114MW-132MW, and will be operational in Q2 2027
• Sadah Wind IPP: Located in Sadah in Dhofar Governate with a capacity of 81MW-99MW, the farm is due for commercial operation in Q4 2027

According to Nama PWP, the following companies have been prequalfiied to bid for the five contracts:

• Acwa Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia)
• Sembcorp (Singapore)
• Sumitomo (Japan)
• TotalEnergies (France)
• Masdar (UAE)
• Alfanar (Saudi Arabia)
• EDF Renewables (France)
• Elecnor (Spain)
• Goldwind (China)
• GED / Marafiq (Saudi Arabia)
• Hero Asia Investment (Hong Kong)
• Itochu (Japan)

Nama PWP received statements of qualifications from interested developers for the contracts on 16 May.

According to a source close to the project, Nama PWP is expected to issue the request for proposals for the contracts to the prequalified bidders before the end of 2024.

These projects are expected to be implemented by 2027, helping the sultanate achieve its target of having renewable energy account for 30% of its overall electricity production mix by 2030 and 39% by 2040.

Nama PWP, previously Oman Power & Water Procurement Company, appointed KPMG Lower Gulf as the financial adviser, UK/US-headquartered Dentons as the legal adviser and Australia’s Worley as the technical adviser for the wind IPPs.

Renewable energy, mainly derived from solar photovoltaic power plants, accounted for an estimated 6% of Oman’s electricity production capacity as of 2023.

Longer-term, Oman aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.