Chinese company to build solar plant in Oman freezone

Oman has signed a deal with a Chinese company to develop a sizeable solar power plant in the north of the country.

It is the latest in a series of green energy initiatives as the sultanate aims to diversify from fossil fuels and power green hydrogen ambitions. 

The $564 million solar farm will be wholly funded by China’s JA Solar and will be built in the Sohar Freezone with a production capacity of 6GW annually over a site of 33 hectares.

It will start production in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotions (MCIIP).

“We aim to achieve a pollution-free environment as part of our 20-year target,” Khalid Al Qassabi, director general of industry at MCIIP, told AGBI.

This is the second green energy agreement Oman has signed with a Chinese company this year. Earlier this month, China’s Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group signed a $200 million deal to build a wind turbine factory in the central industrial city of Duqm.

In terms of solar, the 560MW Ibri II plant has been operational since 2022, while the 500MW Manah 1 was tendered last year.

Other projects include a wind farm in Dhofar in the south, 11 solar-diesel hybrid facilities, and the Sahim initiative, which installs small-scale solar panels on residential and commercial buildings.

The Sohar freezone on the Arabian Gulf in the north of the sultanate covers 4,500 hectares and has attracted investment worth $30 billion to date. 

Last year, Oman’s state-run Hydrom signed two agreements worth $11 billion with a consortium led by Electricité de France (EDF Group), as well as Actis and Fortescue to develop green hydrogen projects in Dhofar in the south of the sultanate.