RFQ for $800m Waste-to-energy project in June

LANDMARK SCHEME: Project to generate 160MW of electricity based on municipal waste as fuel resource

A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the procurement of Oman’s first Wasteto-energy (WTE) project is expected to be floated in June — an initiative designed to support the utilisation of the Sultanate’s burgeoning volumes of municipal waste as a renewable resource for electricity generation.

Total investment in the landmark scheme, with a generation capacity ranging from 125 – 160 MW, is estimated at $800 million, according to Oman Power and Water Procurement Co (OPWP), the state-owned agency which oversees the procurement of all new power generation and water desalination capacity in the Sultanate.

OPWP CEO Yaqoob al Kiyumi said the Waste to Energy project, to be set up at Barka in South Al Batinah Governorate, will be structured as an Independent Power Project (IPP) with the selected developer providing the design, engineering, technology and finance, as well as operational and maintenance inputs under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement.

“The Waste-to-energy project involves a huge collaborative effort between OPWP, the Authority for Electricity Regulation Oman (AER), and be’ah (Oman Environmental Services Holding Company, which oversees the municipal and solid water sector in the Sultanate),” said Al Kiyumi. “We expect to produce around 150 MW from this project by burning around 1.4 million tonnes of municipal waste per annum.”

Technical works linked to the development of the project have already kicked off, according to the CEO. “The project has accordingly commenced with the target to release the Request for Qualification to interested developers by Q2 2019 with an ultimate target of commercially operating the project by the second quarter of 2023.”

OPWP says it is on track in securing at least 16 per cent of the country’s power demand from renewable resources by 2025, rising to an impressive 25 per cent by 2030. Solar will account for the lion’s share of this capacity deployment, while wind will make a modest, but sizable, contribution as well.

Caption: Yaqoob al Kiyumi, CEO – OPWP, speaking at a press briefing on Sunday.