The main objective of this study was to identify the appropriate locations for ambient air quality monitoring stations around the Duqm power stations at downwind and upwind locations. The purpose was to find a location with the highest ground-level concentrations (GLCs) resulting from Duqm Power Station (P/S) operations and to assess the environmental compliance with ambient air quality standards prescribed under MD 41/2017, developed by the Environment Authority (EA) for the Sultanate of Oman.
The Duqm power station has nine DG stacks or emission sources.
Phase 1–4 stacks with 12-meter heights for each stack
Phase 2–5 stacks with 37-meter heights for each stack
To fulfill the above objective, an air dispersion modeling tool was used to estimate the worst-case ground-level concentrations for a single source, that is, separately for the phase 1 and phase 2 stacks.
The model was run separately for Phase 1 and Phase 2 emissions.
The output of the model showed the maximum expected GLCs from Duqm P/S stacks, which were approximately 300 m from Phase 1 stacks and 400 m from Phase 2 stacks.
According to the findings of the air dispersion modeling study, preferred locations in downwind and upwind directions, approximately 300 to 400 m from the emission sources, were proposed for regulator approval (SEZAD) where 24-hour and annual averages of GLCs were found to be at maximum levels. A site survey was planned to assess the appropriateness of the proposed site, including the availability of power supply, security and safety of the equipment, the general topography of the proposed site, and access to the site.