Saturday 11 / May / 2024
Muscat: Oman’s first exhibition for Smart Office and Solar Energy conducted in Sohar was a grand success with scores of exhibitors securing business deals.
Organised by Wadi Nile Exhibition & Festival Organisers, the Smart Offices and Solar Exhibition conducted on September 24 and 25 at Oman Exhibition Centre in Sohar had resulted in 16 participating companies securing good business deals.
Further, 300 people from Batinah region, especially from Sohar, registered with exhibitors for making further enquiries on rooftop solar system for houses as well as smart offices. The exhibitors included MECAMAC (a company specialised in smart office), Solar Hornet and Symtech Solar, showcased their state-of-the-art products and specialised services among potential customers. The Sultanate’s leading telecom service provider, Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), also participated to showcase its telecom solutions for setting up smart offices.
As Oman government has withdrawn subsidy for large power consumers recently, people are interested in installing roof-top solar system. “People are interested in installing roof-top solar system for their household energy use in an apparent move to reduce cost of electricity. As a result, there is a huge demand for solar panels in the country,” said Fadi Zuhair Al Haj, General Manager of Wadi Nile Exhibition & Festival Organisers. “They need more information about the rules and regulation and equipment suppliers,” he added.
After the tremendous success of the first exhibition for Smart Office and Solar Energy in Sohar, Wadi Nile Exhibition & Festival Organisers is planning to conduct a Solar Energy & Smart Technology Exhibition and Conference at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Muscat on December 13 and 14, 2017.
As there is a greater awareness about renewable energy that resulted in a robust demand for solar panels, participating companies will be in a better position to promote their products among their potential customers. The potential customers, especially those who are planning to install roof-top solar panels, will attend the exhibition and conference — all under one roof. Renewable energy firms, consultants, real estate developers and construction firms are also expected to participate in the mega exhibition.
Several government companies in power sector, including Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), Nama Group (Electricity Holding Company) and Rural Areas Electricity Company (Raeco) are also expected to attend the conference. Besides, experts from both Oman and outside will present papers on solar energy.
The Solar Energy & Smart Technology Exhibition and Conference is going to be held at a time when the government is changing its subsidy policy, along with a major focus on strengthening renewable energy sector. A long-term power infrastructure master plan formulated by Oman’s electricity authorities envisions a roughly 10 per cent share from renewables in the Sultanate’s energy mix by 2025. This equates to around 3,000 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity based on concentrated solar power, wind, and photovoltaic (PV) energy resources.
The Authority for Electricity Regulation has launched Sahim, Oman’s first renewable energy initiative, earlier this year through which residents will be able to generate power by installing rooftop solar panels, while being connected to the grid. The initiative also offers consumers to feed extra energy produced back to the grid that would be compensated for, depending on the tariff during the time of day.
Studies show that Oman is one of the countries with the maximum solar irradiance in the world, which is the measure of the amount of sun rays received per unit area. However, apart from renewable energy power plant projects in the interior parts of Oman by Raeco, there are few large scale alternate energy projects in the country.
Apart from solar energy, there will be seminar on smart offices presented by International experts to create awareness on smart office solutions.
