Going by expected power demand growth trends, any demand for new generation capacity will be met almost exclusively by renewables over the next seven years, precluding the need for any new gas-based Independent Power Projects (IPPs) during this timeframe.

This paradigm shift in Omans power generation space underscores the ambitious role envisaged for renewables chiefly solar photovoltaic capacity in the nations energy mix, according to an official of Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the sole procurer of electricity generation and related water desalination capacity under the sector law.

More than 11 per cent of power supply will come from renewable energy by 2023, rising to between 25-30 per cent by 2030, said Bushra al Maskari, Planning Director OPWP. Even globally, moving from zero per cent to 30 per cent in less than a decade is astounding, she remarked in a presentation on energy trends at a forum held in the city recently.

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