Strategic plan: Key drivers, including Green Hydrogen, Carbon Capture Utilisation & Storage (CCUS), Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy to be covered in new policy
The Ministry of Energy and Ministry says it is targeting, by the end of this year, the roll-out of a broad policy framework underpinning the development of a renewables-based green energy industry in the Sultanate of Oman.
Eng Abdulaziz Said al Shidhani (pictured), Director General of Renewable Energy and Hydrogen, said the Ministry, supported by a number of government and public sector stakeholder entities, is formulating an array of policy objectives aimed at providing the country with a clear direction in its transition to a green energy future.
Speaking at the IEEE Power Talks forum held in the city last week, Eng Al Shidhani said the exercise will broadly deliver a new National Energy Transition Policy for the Sultanate of Oman. However, it will also include a subset of policies focusing on Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Hydrogen, and other related objectives.
Last week, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals also launched a competitive tender for the appointment of a consultant to provide advisory services on the formulation of a National Energy Transition Policy for the Sultanate of Oman.
“The objective of this consultancy services (tender) is to develop the required policies to progress the energy transition’s strategic objectives and the interaction and integration with existing energy supply chains in relation to the energy transition’s key drivers, including Green Hydrogen, Carbon Capture Utilisation & Storage (CCUS), Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy,” the Ministry noted in its Request for Proposals.
Speaking at the Power Talks forum, Eng Al Shidhani said the country’s green hydrogen ambitions are expected to accelerate the achievement of targets set out in the Vision 2040 strategy for the inclusion of renewable resources in Oman’s diverse energy mix. It mandates, among other things, a 35 – 39 per cent share of electricity generation from solar and wind sources by 2040. But with green hydrogen set to play a pivotal role in Oman’s energy transition, those targets are expected to be surpassed.
“These targets are subject to change, driven by the changes driving the hydrogen economy,” said Al Shidhani. “It depends on how fast we develop, how fast the policy develops, how fast we are advancing in terms of technology, and in terms of hydrogen projects. This will drive the penetration for renewable energy not only in terms of electricity generation, but also for hydrogen projects.”
He also stressed that, given the rapidly changing developments in the green energy space globally, Oman’s energy transition policy will also be “agile” enough to adapt to these changes. “The policies will be there, but it’s more of setting the right direction for the country,” he stated.
The Ministry is also collaborating with the government, including the ministries of Housing, Environment Authority, Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) and Oman Investment Authority, “to come up with the right formula on how we move forward with hydrogen projects”, he added.
