September 21 (Renewables Now) - State-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is considering the construction of a 100-MW solar plant with an energy storage facility in the north of the sultanate and has drawn up plans for its first wind farm. 

The hybrid project will be built in the northern part of the Block 6 concession and will be PDO's second utility-scale solar project and Oman's first solar-plus-storage facility. 

The solar park would have the option of an additional 30-MW battery storage system charged by an additional solar capacity to maintain PDO grid stability and safeguard power distribution, the company said in its latest Sustainability Report. 

The plans for another solar farm follow the construction of the 100-MW Amin photovoltaic power plant which went online in 2020 at PDO's oilfield concession in south Oman. Last year, the solar park produced more than 340 TWh of power, saving 95.5 million cubic metres of gas. 

Additionally, PDO is preparing to build its first wind farm which is expected to enter operation by the first quarter of 2024. The facility will be the first of several planned wind projects, PDO noted in the report. 

The plans for the renewable energy projects are part of PDO's efforts to reduce its carbon emissions which last year totalled 10.7 million tonnes. The state-owned company, which is Oman's largest oil and gas producer, has developed a roadmap to help it achieve its goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this decade as compared with 2019.