MUSCAT: A study conducted by researchers from Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University and the American University of Hawaii has confirmed that population growth and industrial expansion in the Sultanate has led to an increase in demand for electricity by more than 240 percent during the past decade.

The study, which was published on a website, said that the main challenges of using renewable energy resources in Oman include the high costs of capital and their intermittent nature, noting that promoting the integration of renewable energy sources from wind and solar energy into the traditional energy network requires mitigating the weaknesses posed by the network due to the discontinuous nature of these sources.

The study stated that one possible solution to such a problem is the use of large-scale energy storage, such as pumping hydroelectric power or compressed air, or storing hydrogen.

The study aimed to review energy storage options for the interconnected main system (MIS) in Oman, in addition to providing a technical economic case study on the use of pumped hydro energy storage facilities to deal with peak demand.

The deployment of clean and low-carbon technologies such as renewable energy, energy storage, nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage, and new transportation technologies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The study also explained that this will help the application of energy storage technologies to reduce concentrations of emission gases by facilitating a higher use of renewable energy resources, from generation to the end user. Additionally, energy storage can be used to improve energy quality, stability, and system efficiency.

The research laid emphasis that the annual growth of energy consumption in Oman is around 7% annually.