Power utilities fund solar PV system atop school in Al Rumais
SMN Power Holding, Al Batinah Power, Al Sawadi Power and Al Kamil Power — all subsidiaries of ENGIE in Oman — celebrated the inauguration of a rooftop solar PV system installed atop Hind bint Usayd Al Ansariya School in Al Rumais.
The four power companies jointly funded the project as part of their Environmental and Social Responsibility (ESR) programme. Following a memorandum of Understanding signed the Ministry of Education in December 2017, construction on the project started in July 2018 in collaboration with two Omani entrepreneurs HTC and Solar Hornet. First power was produced on November 15. .
The rooftop PV system provides up to 82 KWP of electricity through 252 solar panels with a capacity of 325 Wp per unit, which cover approximately 500 m2, and is committed to producing a minimum of 100 MWH per year at normal weather conditions. As a result, it generates a significant portion of the energy consumed by the school.
While delivering a sustainable and practical resource for the school itself, the project also allows to educate students bout solar power an clean energy, thus, making an important contribution to the STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics) education of these girls. Promoting STEM education is a vital component of the Omanisation policies put in place by the government to equip young Omani’s with the future skills necessary to compete in the job market.
Commenting on the inauguration yesterday, Hamed al Maghderi, ENGIE Country Director in Oman, said:: “With this project, we have achieved three objectives for Oman: first, it contributes to the clean energy development of the Sultanate.
Moreover, it supports local SMES in the renewable power sector, pushing innovative energy solutions. And finally, it allows us to educate students about solar power, thereby creating awareness on the transition to renewable energy.
We are also very proud to announce that a second project has been approved by the Ministry for a school in Liwa, close to the Port of Sohar, and is now under preparation.”
Florence Fontani, EVP Strategy, Communication and ESR at ENGIE Middle East, South & Central Asia and Turkey, added: “This project is fully in line with ENGIE’S key social engagements, which include access to clean energy for all and the empowerment of local communities.
At ENGIE, we firmly believe in the positive power of partnerships between local government, entrepreneurs, communities and the private sector to boost progress.”
Active in Oman for over 20 years, ENGIE employs locally 460 people in the fields of power generation, water desalinisation and energy services. ENGIE operates a total gross capacity of 3.7 GW of power and 550,000 m3/ day of desalinated water production in the Sultanate.
While delivering a sustainable and practical resource for the school itself, the project also allows to educate students bout solar power an clean energy, thus, making an important contribution to the STEM education of these girls.