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EDF, Oman Sign Agreements for 2-GW Hydro Storage Project, 500-MW Solar Plant

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French majority state-owned electric utility EDF Power Solutions and Oman signed three strategic agreements in Paris on Tuesday to advance renewable energy, grid-scale storage and digital infrastructure projects.

In a high-level meeting held in the presence of Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said of Oman and his French counterpart President Emmanuel Macron, the agreements included a framework with Oman's Authority for Public Services Regulation to develop the proposed 2,000-megawatt Jabal Abyad Pumped Hydro Energy Storage project.

Separately, EDF Power Solutions, Oman National Engineering and Investment and OQ Alternative Energy signed a power purchase agreement with Oman Power and Water Procurement for the 500-MW Al Kamil Solar photovoltaic independent power project, under which the consortium will finance, build and operate the facility.

The solar project is intended to expand the share of renewable energy in Oman's electricity mix while meeting growing demand for low-cost and low-carbon power.

The parties also signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on developing a 1,000-MW sustainable digital infrastructure platform to support artificial intelligence, cloud computing and advanced computing services as Oman seeks to position itself as a regional technology hub under its Vision 2040 economic diversification strategy.

Beatrice Buffon, CEO of EDF, said that the agreements reflect the strength of France and Oman's strategic relationship and their "shared ambition to accelerate the energy transition."

She also referred to the combination of "large-scale renewable generation with advanced energy storage solutions" as a more resilient and sustainable energy system for Oman.

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