On the north coast of the Persian Gulf, the sea breeze at Sohar Port no longer only drives cargo ships, but also begins to rotate photovoltaic panels and electrolytic cells. This industrial hub is transforming sunlight and waves into freshwater, green electricity, and hydrogen energy, conducting integrated experiments with multiple complementary energies to rewrite the underlying logic of sustainable development for industrial civilization in arid regions.

Layout of comprehensive energy and water projects

Oman is accelerating the planning and construction of the large-scale energy and water integration project in Sohar, which integrates supporting facilities for the entire chain of photovoltaic power generation, seawater desalination, energy storage, and green hydrogen manufacturing. The project is located in the industrial port city of Sohar, which can not only ensure domestic water supply and drive industrial economy, but also promote Oman's green energy transformation. It will also create a demonstration project that can be used for reference and replication in the Middle East and Africa.

Collaborative operation of four major sectors

The core feature of the project is the integration of multiple types of public utilities, with four major sectors operating in a coordinated manner: floating renewable energy generation, daily production of 100000 tons of seawater desalination, supporting energy storage facilities, and green hydrogen production lines. The integrated operation mode effectively improves energy utilization efficiency, reduces carbon emissions, and stably delivers hydropower resources to local industries.

Desalination plant: produces 100000 cubic meters of fresh water per day, supplying local factories and ports to address the shortage of industrial water in the region.

Floating photovoltaic power station on water: with a total installed capacity of 250 megawatts, the surface installation saves land and provides clean electricity for the entire project.

Battery energy storage system: With an energy storage capacity of 100 megawatt hours, it can absorb excess photovoltaic energy and enhance the stability and power supply guarantee capability of the power grid.

Green hydrogen production equipment: With an installed electrolysis capacity of 50 megawatts, it fully uses clean electricity to produce hydrogen, suitable for industrial and diverse clean energy scenarios.

The project has multiple strategic values

The Sohar project is in line with the development direction of clean energy infrastructure in the Middle East, coordinating the development of the entire industry chain of water, electricity, and hydrogen, achieving multiple benefits: improving the comprehensive utilization of resources, reducing carbon emissions throughout the entire chain, promoting low-carbon industrial upgrading, and enhancing the risk resistance of infrastructure. After the centralized layout of various facilities, low-carbon hydropower can be sustainably supplied to local industries, consolidating the positioning of Oman as a green industrial hub in the region. Keywords: photovoltaic, energy storage, green hydrogen, clean energy

The project adopts a joint venture development model, with partners including equipment manufacturers, EPC general contractors, investment financial institutions, and energy development enterprises. Multi party joint construction can accelerate the implementation of projects and facilitate the replication and promotion of similar integrated clean energy projects to other regions.Editor/Gong Ziwei