MUSCAT: The Ministry of Energy and Minerals is looking at suitable sites for the production of renewable energy through wind and solar energy, and then direct them to produce green hydrogen, an official source informed on Saturday.

The plan comes after His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik on Thursday gave directives to conduct necessary studies, create a new directorate general for clean energy and hydrogen power at the Ministry and to establish a company for the development of this sector. His Majesty the Sultan called for consistent follow-up of global developments in green hydrogen technologies, the acceleration of steps to regulate this sector, devising legal frameworks for it, drafting policies for its growth and allocating suitable sites for the production of green hydrogen with the aim of enhancing foreign investment and localizing these technologies.

According to the source, the Ministry is currently cooperating with the concerned government agencies to identify suitable sites. The locations of the concession areas are likely to start from Duqm in the south to Al-Shwaimiya in the Wilayat of Shaleem and the Al-Halaniyat Islands, as well as to the Wilayat of Thumrait, as one of the promising areas.

The source expected that the first sites of concession or production areas would be launched before the end of 2022, in line with the activities of the hydrogen symposium that will be held in November or December.