KOWEPO Lands Nation’s 1st Photovoltaic Power Project in Oman

President Park Hyung-duck of Korea Western Power inks an MOU on renewables and hydrogen business development cooperation with President Bruno Bensasson of EDF-R at EDF headquarters in Paris on March 27. (Photo: KOWEPO)

Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) has won the nation’s first renewable energy project in Oman.

KOWEPO said on March 21 the power company was selected as a final bidder for a 500MW photovoltaic power plant project in Oman from Power & Water Procurement Company (OPWP).

The project calls for the construction of a photovoltaic power plant with a combined capacity of 1,000MW in Manah, Dakhiliya, 170 km southwest of Muscat, the capital of Oman.

OPMW placed an order to build Mana Unit 1 and Mana Unit 2, each with a capacity of 500MW, on a separate basis in 2019. If the project is completed, the photovoltaic power plant will be Oman’s biggest-ever.

The Mana Unit 1 photovoltaic power project, landed by KOWEPO, is 2.6 times more than of the size of Yeouido, at a cost of about 600 billion won. The project, to be launched in the second half of this year, is to be dedicated by March 2025.

KOWEPO will also be responsible for O&M of Mana Unit 1 after dedication. The OPWP guarantees the buying of power, to be generated by the photovoltaic power unit for the next 20 years.

In 2019, KOWEPO formed a consortium with Korean and foreign companies to enter the Omani market.

In July of the following year, Oman received a prequalification for the project, but its bidding was put on hold due to complaints by neighborhood residents of the scheduled site of the project and border closing, caused by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the extended bidding process, KOWEPO faced with difficulties, such as the changing of its site, U.S. benchmark rate hikes and partner companies’ abandoning the project, but the power company turned the tide by striking a new partnership with EDF-Renewables (EDF-R), a subsidiary of Électricité de France (EDF), based on its corporate credit rating and excellent fund raising capabilities.

KOWEPO launched negotiations with Omani banks on the back of its excellent expertise related to the construction of renewable energy power plants and Korean creditors.

The power company succeeded in winning the project by beating a consortia comprising of global energy companies.

The latest 500MW photovoltaic power project is the biggest-ever renewable energy project a Korean power company has won so far.

KOWEPO has proven to have a competitive edge in the renewable energy sector by winning mega-photovoltaic power plants in Korea and abroad, including the 110MW Banneton Solar Farm in Australia and the 41.5MW Hapcheon Water Photovoltaic Power Plant.

KOWEPO President Park Hyung-duck said, “KOWEPO’s winning of the order is a first example in which a Korean power company has showcased its international competitiveness in the renewable energy, and it will serve as an opportunity for KOWEPO to devote itself to landing additional orders on photovoltaic power and green hydrogen in the Middle East and Africa.”