Solar water heating initiative in Oman energy saving and carbon credits

By the virtue of its position astride the tropic of cancer, Oman has an important potential of solar energy. Despite these important resources the uses of this renewable energy was limited to few and simple utilization as public lighting or park meter. Recently, the renewable energy sector in Oman is considered as a national priority to supply the future energy demand. This paper investigates the potential of solar water heater application in Oman through a preliminary case study in the Seeb district. The RETScreen Clean Energy Project Analysis Software is an advanced mathematical model to evaluate the energy production and savings costs, emission reductions, financial viability and risk for various types of Renewable-energy and Energy-efficient Technologies. This preliminary study shows that this renewable energy technology has eco-environmental benefits to Oman. The dissemination of the solar water heaters in Oman requires necessarily the contribution of the Government in order to make them. Instead of paying subsidies for the electricity consumed by electric water heaters, the Government can invest in sharing half of the capital cost. The clean development mechanism could help to foster the diffusion of the SWHs in Oman by providing certified emission reduction incentives to the Government.