Wednesday 30 / October / 2024
Muscat: A two-day event on Solar PV Roof Top Technologies was attended by more than 120 experts from Oman, the GCC region and the EU, was held on December 13 and 14, 2017.
The Authority for Electricity Regulations (AER), the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and the EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network, funded by the European Union, was organised in association with the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) and the Dii Desert Energy.
The shift toward clean, reliable, affordable electricity in the world is most visible in the rapid proliferation of solar panels mounted on the roofs of homes and businesses. Rooftop solar is increasingly cost-effective for homeowners, business owners, and their communities. Reductions in technology prices, innovative financing, and growing networks of solar installers and financial partners, all helped drive down the prices for photovoltaic (PV) Rooftop systems.
A series of sessions were held on second day of the event aiming to provide experts with a background on the key issues to be addressed when developing suitable domestic, commercial and industrial solar projects including O&M, commercial contracts and smart grids and data management.
PDO External Affairs and Value Creation Director Abdul-Amir Abdul-Hussein Al Ajmi said: “PDO is beginning its transition to become a fully fledged energy company through the continuous scoping of renewable projects, long-term structural changes – and equally importantly - through professional collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and houses of expertise such as the EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network”.
“This PDO-EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network workshop has brought together project developers, financial institutions, technology leaders, industry advisers, financial experts, government representatives, policy makers and entrepreneurs to debate the key challenges and opportunities for the renewable business in Oman and the region. We look forward to strengthening such win-win collaborations.”
“Nowadays, we are witnessing a major energy transition in Oman and the GCC region at large. In this process, sharing lessons learnt and best practices from the EU and across the GCC on solar rooftop technologies, as well as on other renewables and clean energy technologies is valuable.” notes Dr Mustapha Taoumi, Senior Expert of the EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network, during his opening address. “The EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network is a mechanism that can facilitate this interaction and exchange among the two regions.”
“On behalf of MESIA we are delighted to participate in this event. With the recent announcement of the Sahim rooftop solar scheme and Oman's plans to further develop renewable energy projects, this event is timely and important to enable sharing of information, lessons learnt from Europe and other jurisdictions and generate interest from participants from the wider solar community to enable success of the Omani programme.” said Gurmeet Kaur, communication director of MESIA.
“We have to be aware that each building in the future will become a power plant. Dii Desert Energy will help to develop the right regulatory framework and for grid integration.” commented Cornelius Matthes, senior vice president, Dii Desert Energy.
Rooftop solar can be installed in cities and towns, as opposed to remote locations, it offers job possibilities for local engineers and technicians. Moreover, unlike the fossil fuels, solar panels generate electricity with no air or carbon pollution, no ash or other waste products, and no inputs other than sunlight.
