Muscat: The state-owned oil Petroleum Development Oman(PDO) has recently opened the first solar-powered car park at its headquarters in Muscat.
Thousands of solar panels were installed in car parks at Mina Al Fahal to provide power for PDO’s office buildings.
The move will save more than 3.1 million cubic metres of gas a year, enough to provide electricity for almost 1,000 homes.
It will also cut carbon dioxide emissions by 6,662 tonnes annually, the equivalent of taking more than 1,400 cars off the road or planting almost 173,000 trees.
The 6 megawatt installed peak (MWp) solar project, which will generate 9,480,000 electrical units (kWh) per year, was officially inaugurated under the auspices of Mohammed Al Tobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs.
“This project is among the first in the country to harness solar energy after the Miraah project was launched in the Amal oilfield, which is the biggest solar-powered project in the Gulf,” Al Tobi said.
The solar-powered car park was executed as a joint venture by Spanish company Elecnor S.A. in partnership with Omani firm Rukun Al Yaqeen (RAY) International LLC.
It involved installing a total of 19,500 solar photo voltaic (PV) modules to the canopies of 2,054 parking lots and is the largest solar scheme at a single location in Oman spanning an area of 37,830 square metres.
The solar plant will be able to operate for 25 years at a low maintenance cost.
“There is a lot more potential to harness the sun’s energy in Oman,” PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said.
