Project aims at providing electricity to factories at preferential prices — ACI
By JT – Jan 06,2020
AMMAN — The Kingdom’s chambers of industry will soon float an executive tender for a solar energy project allocated to the industrial sector, President of the Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI) Fathi Jaghbir said on Monday.
Jaghbir said that the project aims at providing electricity to factories at preferential prices and enhancing the competitiveness of national industries locally and internationally, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
He also praised the efforts of the Energy Ministry to support the scheme, according to Petra.
During a meeting with representatives from various industrial companies that have expressed their intention to benefit from the project, the ACI president said that 70 companies have so far expressed interest in the scheme, which has a total capacity of 80 megawatts.
He expected that the capacity will reach 100 megawatts by the end of January.
Jaghbir, who also heads the Jordan Chamber of Industry, said that since announcing the Cabinet’s approval of the project in the second half of 2018, a joint technical committee was established by the involved chambers of industry to follow up on procedures to implement the scheme and acquire the necessary approvals.
He added that approvals have been issued by stakeholders, resulting in the allocation of a plot of land for the venture and permission to link 100 megawatts to the electric grid, Petra reported.
For his part, ACI Director General Nael Hussami said that a contract for the establishment of a consumer company has been prepared to clarify the process for joining the project and the mechanism to distribute shares as per regulations issued under the 2012 Renewable Energy and Energy Rationalisation Law.
During the meeting, attendees set the end of January as the deadline for industrial companies to express interest in benefitting from the project.
The company’s board of directors is to be elected after the executive tender is floated, according to Petra.
http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/industrial-sector-benefit-solar-energy-scheme
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Jordan to harness solar energy to power street lights — Zawati
Ministry to announce energy sector’s 2020-2030 strategy in coming weeks
By JT – Jan 06,2020
AMMAN — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Administration, will float a tender for replacing the Kingdom’s streetlights with energy-efficient systems, Minister of Energy Hala Zawati announced on Monday.
Zawati’s remarks came during the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise Conference, which was organised by the Economic and Social Council, attended by Prime Minister Omar Razzaz and various stakeholders, according to an Energy Ministry statement.
During a session to discuss the recommendations of the energy sector, Zawati said that the tender will be floated during the first quarter of this year, adding that solar cells will be installed at the municipalities’ buildings across the Kingdom.
During the upcoming two weeks, the ministry will announce the energy sector’s strategy for 2020-2030, along with an executive strategy that focuses on achieving energy security, diversification of energy sources, cutting costs and enhancing reliance on local resources.
During the gathering, Zawati also highlighted the ministry’s efforts to boost the competitiveness and productivity of the industry, agriculture and services sectors.
She noted that the annual electric tariff subsidies given to the agriculture sector amount to JD40 million, while annual subsidies granted to small-scale industries are at JD29 million. Subsidies granted to medium-sized industries in 2020 will reach JD50 million.
Zawati reiterated that the ministry will continue issuing licences for renewable energy projects with capacities of less than 1 Megawatt (MW), noting that since 2014, some 15,300 projects have been issued licences, only 47 of which have a capacity of more than 1 MW.
Commenting on the “popular misconception” that the Kingdom has an electricity surplus, the minister stressed that Jordan instead has a surplus of energy-generation capacity.
http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-harness-solar-energy-power-street-lights-%E2%80%94-zawati