Muscat, Oman. Source: iStock.com/Chalabala UK provider PassivSystems has been selected to supply smart energy management for Oman’s 1GW residential solar rollout. The country is looking to defer grid upgrades and decrease the impact of peak demands by installing 250,000 rooftop solar systems. The Sahim initiative is being managed by the sultanate’s Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER). “PassivSystems technology demonstrates clear benefits against its competitors’ by providing a platform that manages the full lifecycle of the solar PV assets,” claimed Qais Saud Al Zakwani, executive director, AER. “Its system collects daily generation data to help ensure we optimise yield and also allows us to track and manage workflows, including approvals, asset serial numbers and documentation – essential information that we need to track in order to efficiently manage a programme of this size and scale,” he added. The PassivEnergy platform is being localised with additional temperature and soiling sensors added to monitor the impact of high temperatures on yield and to set a targeted cleaning schedule. The combination of moisture in the cool mornings and high levels of sand and dust can lead to “encrusted deposits”. “We have collected over a terabyte of data from tens of thousands of rooftops in the UK and proven the scalability of our platform beyond doubt,” said Colin Calder, chief executive, PassivSystems. “Localising the platform to maximise yield, streamline support and reduce operational costs for the specific environmental conditions in Oman demonstrates the versatility of our technology. We help get the best out of the PV assets throughout their complete lifecycle, wherever in the world they are located,” added Calder. Oman short-listed three consortia in November for a 500MW large-scale solar tender. Tags: middle east, passivsystems, solar monitoring, smart energy, oman, residential rooftop
Oman has chosen PassivSystems to provide smart energy management for its 1 GW residential solar project. The country is installing 250,000 rooftop solar systems as it attempts to defer grid upgrades and lower the impact of peak-time demand. The initiative is being run by Oman's Authority for Electricity Regulation, which said it selected PassivSystems because it offered a platform that manages the full life cycle of solar assets. The UK firm said it had sufficiently tested its offering on roofs at home and that it would be localised according to the “specific environmental conditions in Oman”.