Techno-Economic Studies for Connecting 1700MW Sohar-3 Power Station to Oman Grid

What is it about?

Abstract—This paper presents techno-economic studies for grid connection of a new 1700MW generating plant in the vicinity of Sohar port area which is planned to be commissioned by January 2019. The objective is to justify the required capital expenditure on the basis of the submission of a full, complete and robust study, in the form of Pre-Investment Appraisal Document (PIAD), insuring the transmission system in Oman is planned, developed and operated in an efficient manner. Five options for connecting the Sohar generating plant to the Main Interconnected Transmission System (MITS) have been assessed and the most efficient financially, technically and lower risk option is selected. The paper describes the assessment for each option from different aspects, technically, financially and risk of deliverability of the project. The assessment of each option has been carried out on the basis of the following performance considerations: compliance with the Transmission Security Standard (TSS), capital cost, Net Present Value (NPV), environmental considerations, safety and flood risk assessment. Power losses have also been considered in the NPV calculation. In addition, the paper describes the optimal generation connection design in accordance with the TSS criteria. The compliance with TSS requirements has been assessed by steady state and dynamic studies for both peak and off peak demand with full evacuation of the new Sohar power plant, using the DIgSILENT professional software. The results include load flow analysis in N, (N-1), and (N-M-1) operating conditions, short-circuit levels, and transient stability. Index Terms-- Pre-Investment Appraisal Document, Risk Assessment, Sohar Power Plant, Transmission Security Standard.

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Why is it important?

The Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) has received a connection application from the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) for the connection of a new generating plant in the vicinity of Sohar port area with a maximum capacity of 1700 MW by January 2019. In order to meet the Transmission Licence Conditions 8, 23 and 26 and mitigate any risk associated with non-compliance of these obligations, OETC has to prepare a Pre-Investment Appraisal Document (PIAD) including technical and economic studies to assess a number of available connection options and recommend the most financially and technically suitable solution.

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