Manah I is a 500MW greenfield solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant developed in the Ad Dakhiliyah region of Oman. It is the country’s largest solar power plant.
The independent power project was developed by Wadi Noor Solar Power, a special purpose vehicle formed by EDF Renewables, a renewable energy developer based in France, and Korea Western Power Company, a power supplier based in South Korea.
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The Manah I project broke ground in September 2023. The project achieved financial close in January 2024. The project’s financing was secured through equity and loan schemes from local and international financial institutions including the Export-Import Bank of Korea, European bank Société Générale and Oman Bank Muscat.
Commissioned in January 2025, the project can generate enough power for 60,000 homes and offset 780,000t of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
It supports the Ad Dakhiliyah region’s aim of attaining carbon neutrality and is expected to augment the proportion of renewable energies in the energy mix to 35–39% by 2040.
Project location
The Manah I solar project site is located adjacent to the planned 588MW Manah II project in the Ad Dakhiliyah region.
The site spans an area of 775.33 hectares (1,915.9 acres) and is located 30km south of Manah town and 130km (linear) from the coast. It has an elevation ranging between 340m and 350m above sea level.
Manah I solar power plant details
The Manah I solar farm consists of 1,043,911 PV modules, each with a nameplate capacity ranging between 600W-peak (Wp) and 605Wp under standard test conditions. It incorporates bifacial N-Type modules affixed to 1P single-axis trackers with 1V brackets.
The project features Arctech’s flagship 1P SkyLine II tracker, endowed with a multipoint drive mechanism and a patented triple D torque tube.
The tracker is capable of withstanding wind speeds of up to 22m per second. The robust torque tube enables a post span of up to 10m, which can reduce the number of posts by 20% and reduce civil work expenses.
The PV modules are serially connected to form PV strings, which then channel electricity into string inverters. Each PV string consists of 31 to 32 modules and up to 19 PV strings per inverter, amounting to 33,670 PV strings in total.
The solar farm utilises 1,740 inverters, each with a rated capacity of 295kVA.
In addition, the project includes 60 Integrated Transformer Stations (ITS), each rated at 8.8MV-amperes with a 0.80/33kV configuration. Each ITS interconnects 30 string inverters, culminating in a total input power of approximately 10.5MW-peak per unit.
A robot cleaning system comprising 1200 cleaning robots is also part of the power plant.
Power transmission details
The direct current power generated by the panels is converted to alternating current power through string inverters linked to low-voltage/medium-voltage transformers, which then supply power to the 33kV internal grid.
A solar interconnection facility is responsible for stepping up the voltage of the PV plant’s power from 33kV to 400kV, thus enabling integration with the Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) grid through a 400kV transmission line.
Electricity is conveyed to the Manah OETC substation through two 400kV underground cables.
The project also includes a 400kV substation, a 400kV switchgear building, a control room building and a 33kV switchgear room.
Power purchase agreement
The Oman Water and Power Procurement Company is procuring power from the plant under a 20-year power purchase agreement signed in March 2023.
Contractors involved
Arctech, a solar tracker and racking solutions provider, was responsible for providing customised solutions including the 1P SkyLine II tracker optimised for the project’s specific requirements.
Engineering company Worley was selected as the owner engineer, while Shanghai Electric Company served as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project.
Oman-based construction company Trade Links and Services was tasked with the construction, testing and commissioning of the project’s 400kV substation.
Broaden Energy, a renewable energy technology and equipment manufacturing company, was involved in civil construction, mechanical installation and electrical works.
Clifford Chance, a law firm, advised the lenders on the project financing.
