Oman is lining up another gigawatt of grid batteries. Nama Holding, a subsidiary of the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), has signed a framework agreement with State Grid International Development for two battery energy storage systems totalling 1 GW, MEED and The Arabian Stories report.
The projects
- Sites: two 500 MW systems, at Duqm Industrial Station and at Al-Subaikhi (Ibri Solar 3) Station, according to MEED.
- Grid link: both will connect to Oman's national transmission network at 400 kV.
- Value: OIA put the combined value at about RO384.5 million ($1 billion), MEED says.
Nama said the projects are meant to improve grid stability and reliability and help integrate renewable energy, in line with Oman Vision 2040. It said the framework agreement builds on cooperation between the two companies on projects already being implemented in Duqm and Ibri, The Arabian Stories reports. Neither report gave a storage duration in megawatt-hours or a completion date.
Part of a wider package
The agreement was signed in Beijing during Sultan Haitham bin Tarik's state visit to China, on the sidelines of an Oman–China investment forum on 2 November. MEED says OIA signed other deals at the same event, including a wind-turbine research and testing partnership between O-Green and Shanghai Electric Wind Power in Duqm, and a preliminary term sheet with PCG Power and Hoymiles for solar projects and a solar inverter factory, valued at about $100 million.
MEED adds that Nama Power & Water Procurement is separately procuring a 950 MW standalone battery storage programme of five facilities.