Khimji Ramdas (KR) announced a strategic partnership with Nafath Renewable Energy, Oman’s leading SME in the energy sector, to design, develop, install and commission Solar Energy systems.

The first stage of this partnership will be executed at the Khimji Ramdas Logistics Centre in Barka.

Oman’s first large scale 1MW rooftop Solar PV System

An illustration of the Khimji Ramdas logistics warehouse in Barka with installed rooftop solar panels. (For illustrative purposes only.)

The project in Barkha involves retrofitting Tier I Solar PV modules across an area that spans over 5000 sq.m. With a total capacity of 1.066 MW, the solar PV system will yield a total of over 1700kWh of clean energy annually. This in turn, will result in a more than 40% reduction of monthly consumption from the utility grid.

Any excess energy generated by the solar plant will be fed back to the grid following Sahim 2 initiative under the Authority for Electricity Regulation, Oman (AER).

The Solar PV system at KR’s logistics centre will contribute to Oman’s target of reducing carbon emissions by saving 1460 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and serve as a small contribution to Oman’s target of 30% renewables penetration by 2030.

Oman gets serious about Solar Energy

Nailesh Khimji, Director, Khimji Ramdas said, “Solar energy in Oman is at the cusp of massive expansion with the government clearing the decks for a production of electricity from multitude of installations through the Sahim 2 initiative. We at Khimji Ramdas in collaboration with Nafath Renewable Energy LLC dedicate our efforts in moving the business to the most efficient frontier and help establish a long term, respectable, capacity that will efficiently utilize the abundant solar energy that our country is blessed with.”

Abdulla Nasser Al Saidi, CEO, Nafath Renewable Energy said, “We are delighted to be partnering with KR to jointly developing the solar market in Oman. With this signature project we intend to showcase our design and execution capability that will go a long way to further the expansion of solar energy in Oman.”

This initiative falls directly in-line with KR’s vision of building national capability and promoting SMEs to compete in the global market. Nafath Renewable Eenergy, established by three young Omani entrepreneurs in 2013 is a leading company in Solar PV systems in the Sultanate of Oman.

Nafath RE’s CEO, Eng. Abdullah Al Saidi was awarded the Best Omani Entrepreneur by Riyada in 2016 along with two other founding members, Eng. Musab Al Farsi and Eng. Nasser Al Jabri.

Ravi Kumar Dhulipala, Chief Operating Officer, KR Infrastructure Group said, “Solar power has become an increasingly popular source of renewable energy due to its advanced technology, wider market reach and cost-competitiveness. Global data shows that more solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is being installed than any other generation technology. We at KR will strive to put all our marketing efforts to systematically maximise the value transfer that caters to a specific customer segment.”