In recent years, the penetration of renewable power generations into the electrical grid has substantially increased. Continuous deployment of power electronic-based distributed generations and the reduction of traditional synchronous machines with their essential dynamics in modern power networks are very critical in this change. The use of power electronic inverters leads to the dissociation of sources and loads and lowering the power system inertia. Under power imbalance, this drop causes an elevated rate of change in frequency and frequency divergences, which has a notable impact on the system’s frequency stability. As a result, enhanced control techniques for grid-tied electronic converters are required to secure the power system’s stability and support. The virtual-synchronous generator (VSG) control is used to mimic the dynamics of a rotating synchronous generator and improve the power system’s stability. In this article, the problems of such low-inertia power systems, as well as the VSG technologies, are explored. This research also looks at different control orders and strategies for virtual-synchronous generators (VSG). In addition, the utilization of energy storage and critical matters in VSG and further research recommendations are explained.

The energy sector in GCC countries plays a vital role in achieving economic and social development and contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Furthermore, the energy sector plays a major role in meeting the water and food needs in these countries that have harsh climate conditions and water scarcity. However, the consumption of energy is high in the GCC relative to other developed countries and this is one of the key challenges faced by the GCC. Growing energy consumption will threaten exports, affect the economic diversification and may increase the energy waste. A diversification of the energy mix by including renewable sources presents an opportunity as it would free up part of the energy production for export as well as would reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission. Over the next ten years, it is expected that the population of the GCC countries will increase by more than 20%. This article provides estimate of demand for electricity and fuel used in the power plants for the next 25 years. The amount of carbons dioxide emission is estimated based on type and amount of fuel used. In order to reduce the dependency on the fossil fuel and reduce carbon emission a number of measures should be implemented that includes, utilization of renewable energy sources, adopting energy-efficient products and buildings, demand side management, and reforming the fuel prices. In fact, the GCC countries have already started implementing some of these measures toward a more sustainable energy future.

The Smart Grid (SG) is considered as an imminent future power network because of its fault identification and self-healing capabilities. Energy sustainability, renewable energy integration and an efficient control system are the key factors to be considered in developing SG system. Among various SG concepts, the term virtual power plant (VPP) integrates renewable energy to the grid and provides higher operational flexibility, but it requires extra capital costs for control system and software. The operational activities of a smart grid largely depend on the active customer demands. This paper defines and discusses various SG system concepts such as virtual power plant, and active demand in consumer networks, and also presents drivers and roadmaps for development of smart grids worldwide. Furthermore, this work provides an insight into present research and development on smart grids around the world, and sheds light on developing and establishing SG for the Sultanate of Oman.

Duqm is located in the Al Wasta Governorate in Oman and is currently fed by 10 diesel generators with a total capacity of around 76 MW and other rental power sources with a size of 18 MW. To make the electric power supply come completely from renewables, one novel solution is to replace the diesel with hydrogen. The extra energy coming from the PV-wind system can be utilized to produce green hydrogen that will be utilized by the fuel cell. Measured data of solar insolation, hourly wind speeds, and hourly load consumption are used in the proposed system. Finding an ideal configuration that can match the load demand and be suitable from an economic and environmental point of view was the main objective of this research. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER Pro) microgrid software was used to evaluate the technical and financial performance. The findings demonstrated that the suggested hybrid system (PV-wind-fuel cell) will remove CO₂ emissions at a cost of energy (COE) of USD 0.436/kWh and will reduce noise. With a total CO₂ emission of 205,676,830 kg/year, the levelized cost of energy for the current system is USD 0.196/kWh. The levelized cost for the diesel system will rise to USD 0.243/kWh when taking 100 US dollars per ton of CO₂ into account. Due to system advantages, the results showed that using solar, wind, and fuel cells is the most practical and cost-effective technique. The results of this research illustrated the feasibility and effectiveness of utilizing wind and solar resources for both hydrogen and energy production and also suggested that hydrogen is a more cost-effective long-term energy storage option than batteries.

Wind–PV–diesel hybrid power generation system technology is a promising energy option since it provides opportunities for developed and developing countries to harness naturally available, inexhaustible and pollution-less resources. The aim of this study is to assess the techno-economic feasibility of utilizing a hybrid wind–PV–diesel power system to meet the load of Al Hallaniyat Island. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables software has been employed to carry out the present study. The simulation results indicate that the cost of generating energy (COE) is $0.222 kWh⁻¹ for a hybrid system composed of a 70 kW PV system, 60 kW wind turbine and batteries together with a 324.8 kW diesel system. Moreover, using the same system but without batteries will increase the COE to $0.225 kWh⁻¹, the fuel consumption, the excess energy and the total operating hours for the diesel generators. The PV–wind hybrid option is techno-economically viable for rural electrification.

Solar energy and wind are likely to play an important role in the future energy generation in Oman. This article assesses wind power cost per kWh of energy produced using four types of wind machines at 27 locations within Oman. These sites cover all regions in Oman. Hourly values of wind speed recorded between 2000 and 2009, in most cases, were used for all 27 locations. Wind duration curves were developed and utilized to calculate the cost per kWh of energy generated from four chosen wind machines. It was found that the cost of energy is low in the south and middle regions of Oman compared with that in the north region. The most promising sites for the economic harnessing of wind power are Thumrait, Qairoon Hairiti, Masirah, and Sur, with an energy cost of less than 0.117 US$/kWh when 2000 kW, 1500 kW, 850 kW, or 250 kW wind turbines are used.