China's Hainan Drinda to build Oman's first solar PV cell factory

Chinese PV cell maker Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (SZE:002865) is planning to build a factory for the production of up to 10 GW of TOPcon solar photovoltaic (PV) cells annually in Oman as the Sultanate aims to become a major green hydrogen producer.

The solar cell manufacturer has signed a preliminary agreement with the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) for the project which will require about USD 700 million (EUR 653.3m) in investments.

The production capacity will be deployed in two phases, each of 5 GW, Hainan Drinda said in a filing to the stock market.

Hainan Drinda's project would be the first PV cell plant in Oman and comes amid the country's ambitious plans for solar energy expansion and green hydrogen deployment.

The Arab country plans to connect five new solar power plants with a combined capacity of 3 GW to the grid by 2029. Additionally, Oman will need to install gigawatt-scale solar capacity to support green hydrogen production. State-owned company Hydrom has already allocated land plots to several projects in the first two rounds of the green hydrogen tender. Once implemented, these projects will help Oman achieve its goal of producing over 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by the end of this decade.

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