Oman kicks off production at its first solar panel production facility

Italy’s Ecoprogetti completes production line for Omani solar plant: Italian solar machinery manufacturer Ecoprogetti has launched a 50 MW production line for Oman’s first solar PV panel production project, according to a statement. The project was commissioned by renewables equipment manufacturing firm Sheida Solar in Sohar Industrial City, with a total investment of OMR 1.5 mn. The production line will produce 450 W, 550 W, and 590 W panels using its TopCon technology.

Not Ecoprogetti’s first project in the region: Ecoprogetti inaugurated Africa’s largest and most modern PV module factory in Almaden, Morocco in 2018, according to its website. The factory produces 250 MW per year of double glass and bifacial automatic modules. The firm also supplied various PV module turnkey lines in the GCC with the capacity to produce 20-30 MW of modules per year, and exports equipment to the Mena region where demand for solar panels is increasing.

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Oman wants to become a hub for solar panel production: Muscat-based renewables player Bakarat Investment partnered with Chinese solar PV firm Q-Sun Solar last month to develop a 10 GW solar cell and module production plant at Sohar Freezone. Australia’s renewable energy developer United Solar Group also began construction on a USD 1.3 bn polysilicon production facility — a key material in solar panel manufacturing — in Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone in March. Chinese solar panel manufacturer Hainan Drinda is also establishing a USD 700 mn high-efficiency photovoltaic cell facility with an annual production capacity of 10 GW.

What’s Ecoprogetti? The company says it specializes in the design and production of photovoltaic manufacturing equipment, according to its website. Ecoprogetti provides a range of machinery and turnkey products for solar panel production, with a specific focus on automation, efficiency, and quality in the solar manufacturing process. The company also produces solar cell testers, laminators, and stringers.