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Feasibility Analysis of Grid connected PhotoVoltaic
Systems in Sultanate of Oman using RETScreen 4
Mr Arun.S.Gopinath#1, Mr. Mahesh Aphale#2 Mrs. Preetha P.V#3
#1Mr.Arun.S.Gopinath , Lecturer ,Electrical Engg Department
#2Mr.Mahesh Aphale , Lecturer ,Electrical Engg Department
#3 Mrs.Preetha P.V , Lecturer ,Electrical Engg Department
#1,#2College of Technology , Shinas, Ministry of Manpower ,Sultanate of Oman
#3 P.A Aziz College of Engg & Technology ,Trivandrum, India
1
arun@shct.edu.om
2
mahesh@shct.edu.om
3
prth_nr@yahoo.co.in
Abstract - Sultanate of Oman relies on gas and oil resources fuels for almost all of its energy needs. Almost 99% of its
power generation is based on natural gas. Natural gases are largely committed and soon it may become a net importer of it.
This leads to look at alternative sources of energy. Among alternative sources of Energy, Solar and Wind energy resources are found
more attractive for country due to its geographical location and potential. This paper presents a feasibility analysis of Photovoltaic
power generation possibilities in four zones of Oman namely Muscat (Seeb int’l airport), Salalah , Nizwa and Sohar .
Keywords— RETscreen4 , GHG emission , Emission factor , Capacity factor , life cycle costing
I. INTRODUCTION
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states i.e.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab
Emirates and Oman are dependent on fossil fuel
(the main cause of carbon emissions); and their
economies are reliant on the oil, gas and
petrochemical based industries. Electricity demand
in Oman is increasing with industrialization. In this
paper, the economic feasibility of the Solar Photo
Voltaic Power plant of 1MW capacity is analysed
for different locations in Sultanate of Oman. The
locations selected are ; Muscat , Salalah , Sohar and
Nizwa .
II. RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES -
A. Requirement of Renewable Energy Technologies
As on February 2011, 191 countries in the world
have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol to
the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate change (UNFCC) with the goal of
achieving stabilization of greenhouse gas
concentrations. Oman, as a member of UNFCC
has agreed on January 2005 to contribute to
combating global warming along with the rest of
the world[1]. To meet the future electricity
demand, the government has recently announced
to invest on upgradation and construction of the
conventional diesel, gas and coal based power
plants. This action will persist to enhance the
emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG). To
diminish the ill effects of climate-sensitivities
and to combat global warming problem,
reduction of CO2 and other pollutants is
inevitable. For these aspects use of Renewable
energy technologies is the best option. The level
of solar energy density in Oman is among the
highest in the world. There is significant scope
for developing solar energy resources throughout
Oman and solar energy has the potential to
provide sufficient electricity to meet all of
Oman’s domestic electricity requirements and
provide some electricity for export. High solar
energy density is available in all regions of
Oman: areas of highest density are dessert areas.
Areas of lowest density are coastal areas in the
southern part of Oman.
B. Solar Photo Voltaic Power Generation
The solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is a well
proven technology for producing Electricity. PV
systems are either grid connected (with
electricity fed directly into the grid system) or
PV systems used in off-grid applications in small
power systems in combination with diesel power
gen-sets. Both types of solar PV system are
relevant for Oman. The potential for producing
electricity using PV systems is highest during
the summer which coincides with the period of
peak electricity demand in Oman. The most parts
of country bear clear sky (except some part of
southern Oman) with annual average sunshine
duration of 3708 hours per year [4]. The solar
radiation of Muscat area based on 3 years data
(2006 to 2009), ranging from 4.232 to 8.011
kWh/m2 per day with overall average of 6.383
kWh/m2 per day [5]
C. RETScreen 4 for Feasibility studies
RETScreen 4 is Canadian software which holds
a complete database for any location in the
world, optimised for using the best available data
at each location from about 20 sources, the main
ones being the WRDC and the NASA irradiance
data. NASA and WRDC data are available free
of cost, and hence RETScreen data is also free.
RETScreen International is a clean energy
awareness, decision-support and capacity
building tool. The core of the tool consists of
standardised and integrated clean energy project
analysis software that can be used world-wide to
evaluate the energy production, life-cycle costs
and greenhouse gas emission reductions for
various types of energy efficient and renewable
energy technologies (RETs). In this paper we are
narrating the feasibility analysis of 1MW
Photovoltaic Power Generation in Oman.
III. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS SELECTED FOR ANALYSIS
1. Sohar
Table 1. Geographical location Parameters ; Sohar
Parameter Magnitude Unit
Latitude 24.5 ˚N
Longitude 56.6 ˚E
Elevation 4 m
2. Seeb Int’l – Muscat
Table 2. Geographical location Parameters ; Seeb Int’l-Muscat
Parameter Magnitude Unit
Latitude 23.6 ˚N
Longitude 58.3 ˚E
Elevation 15 m
3. Salalah
Table 3. Geographical location Parameters ; Salalah
Parameter Magnitude Unit
Latitude 17.0 ˚N
Longitude 54.1 ˚E
Elevation 23 m
4. Nizwa
Table 4. Geographical location Parameters ; Nizwa
Parameter Magnitude Unit
Latitude 22.9 ˚N
Longitude 57.5 ˚E
Elevation 383 m
Direct Solar radiation data for all the 4 geographical
locations selected are given in Table 5. These data’s
are projected from the weather database of
RETScreen 4.
TABLE 5. AVERAGE MONTHLY SOLAR RADIATION IN
KWh/m²/day
Seeb -
Muscat Sohar Salalah Nizwa
Jan 4.00 3.96 4.60 4.33
Feb 4.70 4.80 4.90 5.12
Mar 5.50 5.29 5.60 5.71
Apr 6.30 6.27 5.80 6.70
May 6.90 6.94 6.10 7.29
June 6.70 6.95 5.20 7.09
July 6.10 6.26 3.30 6.55
Aug 6.00 6.23 3.00 6.42
Sep 5.80 5.89 4.60 6.10
Oct 5.20 5.34 5.40 5.48
Nov 4.40 4.37 4.80 4.64
Dec 3.80 3.75 4.40 4.14
IV. FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
Among the 4 Locations , Nizwa seems to be
having highest solar irradiance level so focussing
will be on Nizwa for further analysis
Feasibility analysis of 1MW Solar Photovoltaic
power plant is done in this paper through 3
stages .
a. Energy Modelling
b. Emission Analysis
c. Financial Analysis
A. Energy Modelling
The parameters such as Daily solar radiation
data , Air Temperature , Relative humidity ,
Atmospheric pressure, wind speed , Earth
Temperature , Heating degree-days and Cooling
Degree days for all the locations are availed from
the climatic database of RETScreen as in Fig 1 .
Fig.1 Climatic database for Nizwa taken from RETScreen
PV Module Manufacturer’s database is inbuilt in
RETScreen software. We selected Amorphous
silicon type PV module (a-Si-BP Millenia MST
50MV)from BP solar as given in Fig 2
Fig 2 PV Module Manufactures database in RETScreen
PV module (a-Si-BP Millenia MST 50MV) is
having a frame size of .82m2 and efficiency of 7%.
PV system capacity factor is taken as 20 % [7].
This is the ratio of average power produced by the
system over the year to its nominal rated PV array
power. Electricity Exported to grid will be 1720
MWh at the rate of OMR40 per MWh
Fig 3. Energy modelling for Nizwa
B. Emission Analysis
Major conventional power plants in Oman are
working with natural gas as fuel. So comparison
will be with Natural gas run Gas turbine based
power plants. Transmission and Distribution losses
are taken as 14 %. Green House Gas emission
(GHG) will be 1366.6 tonnes of CO2( tCO2 )
annually in Natural gas based power generation . It
will be reduced by if using PV power plant. The
Net annual reduction in this GHG emission is
1175.2 tCO2 . . Net annual GHG emission
Reduction is equivalent to 2733 barrels of crude oil
consumed annually
.
Fig 4. Emission Analysis for Nizwa
C. Financial Analysis
Initial cost for setting up a 1 MW Solar power plant
seems to be close to OMR 12,00,000 [6]. Financial
analysis is done for 2 cases
Case -1 : Financial Analysis considering 10%
incentives and GHG reduction credits.
(Fig 5 &8)
Case – 2 : Financial Analysis without considering
incentives and GHG emission
reduction credits.( Fig 6 & 7)
Fig. 5 Financial Analysis considering 10% incentives , Location –NIZWA
Fig 6. Financial Analysis without Incentives and GHG Emission Reduction
Credits
Fig 7. Cumulative Cash Flow Graphs without Incentives and GHG Emission
Credits
Fig 8. Cumulative Cash Flow Graphs with Incentives and GHG Emission
Credits
II. CONCLUSIONS
1. In Oman CDM transaction rate is not yet
defined. From European markets , it’s
knowing that the current Certified Emission
Reduction (CER) prices under CDM is US$
30 per (tCO2) [3]. A detailed policy to be
framed for these types of Economic
transactions in Renewable Energy
Technology field.
2. Incentives or grants for PV power plant
should be given otherwise such projects will
not be effective. 10% or more than that of
Capital Cost of the system should be given
as grant or incentive , Solar PV power plant
of 1 MW seems to payback with equity
payback of 10 years or less than that.
REFERENCES
[1] Parmal Singh Solanki ,Venkateswara Sarma Mallela, Malcolm
Allan and Chengke Zhou ‘Distributed Generation to Reduce Carbon
Dioxide Emissions: A Case Study for Residential Sector in Oman’
[2] AER, 2008, Annual Report of the Authority for Electricity
Regulations (AER), Oman, (www.aeroman. org )
[3] Capacity Development for the Clean Development Mechanism
(CD4CDM), UNEP, (www.cd4cdm.org) CD4CDM, 2010,
[4] A place in the sun. http://www.independent.co.uk [accessed March
23, 2012].
[5] Director General of Meteorological & Air Navigation, Ministry of
Transport and Communication, Sultanate of Oman, 2008-09.
[6] Explanatory Memorandum For Benchmark Capital Cost Norms for
Solar PV Power Projects and Solar Thermal Power Projects for
Year 2011-12– CERC , New Delhi – 2010
[7] Clean Energy Project Analysis - RETScreen® Engineering & Cases
Textbook – PhotoVoltaic Project Analysis , 2004
[8] Dr. Adel Gastli & Dr. Yassine Charabi ,Solar Water Heating
Initiative In Oman —Energy Saving And Carbon Credits— Seeb
Case Study
