Oman Power & Water Procurement Company (OPWP) has appointed US/India’s Synergy Consulting as financial adviser for the sultanate’s first planned solar independent power project (IPP).

According to sources close to the project, Synergy has been appointed to provide financial advisory services for the planned 200MW photovoltaic (PV) solar project. The client had received proposals for the advisory role in July.

MEED reported in June that OPWP was planning to issue request for proposals (RFPs) for the main developer role on the project in the fourth quarter of 2017. The sultanate’s first major solar project is expected to be a 200MW photovoltaic (PV) scheme. The project is scheduled to be operational in 2020.

The proposed IPP will be the second utility-scale renewables project planned in Oman, with the UAE’s Masdar announcing in 2014 it was planning to develop a 50MW wind farm in the southern part of the sultanate in partnership with the local Rural Areas Electricity Company (Raeco).

Due to a number of delays in the design and procurement phase, the developer is currently evaluating EPC proposals. Following the delays, the project is now also due to be operational in 2020.