A solar car park project launched by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) at Mina al Fahal in Muscat has been completed.

A PDO official commented that this will pave the way for ‘green energy’ and power the head office and surplus electricity will be fed back into the local grid, according to Oman Daily Observer.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Environmental Forum 2020, held recently under the auspices of Dr Khalfan bin Said al Shueili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, PDO’s Executive Director of External Affairs and Value Addition, Engineer Abdulamir bin Abdul Hussein al Ajmi, said the company has installed sufficient numbers of solar panels atop car parks at its Mina Al Fahal complex.

“We have completed the project that generates power from the parking lots in the Mina al Fahal area and we have succeeded in installing thousands of photovoltaic panels whose production capacity exceeds 10 megawatts (MW) at peak output,” Al Ajmi said.

He added that the electricity output will meet a large part of the demand at Mina Al Fahal while any surplus will be channeled into the grid.

The company was also able to implement a similar project in the parking lots at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals with a number of local SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) specialised in the field of renewable energy having participated in the implementation phase.

“These pioneering projects are successful examples that can be easily applied in various institutions of the country, and they will undoubtedly have a great impact in promoting a culture of adopting renewable energy sources and seeking environmentally friendly solutions,” Engineer Abdul Amir said.