UAE company to develop 200MW solar plant in Jordan – Jordan Times
AMMAN — Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, on Wednesday announced an agreement to develop a commercially driven utility-scale 200 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar plant for the Energy Ministry.
The agreement comes less than one month after Masdar and its partners inaugurated the 117MW Tafileh wind farm in the Kingdom, a statement from the company said.
The agreement was formalised during the World Future Energy Summit, part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week — an annual gathering on sustainability in the Middle East.
“Jordan is a key market for Masdar in the MENA region. With regional energy demand set to double by 2030, we believe the majority of that growth will be met from renewable energy,” the statement quoted Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of Masdar, as saying.
“This growth represents a strong business case for renewables, not just in Jordan, but also across the wider MENA region,” he added.
Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif said: “This project is an investment in Jordan’s future energy security. It reflects the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah to reduce the Kingdom’s reliance on imported energy and limit our carbon footprint.”
“We believe the project will stimulate the investment climate for similar renewable energy projects in Jordan and will strengthen our status as a new and important destination for renewable energy investments in the region,” the statement quoted Saif as saying.
The announced solar plant is Masdar’s second major investment in Jordan, the statement said.
In December, it delivered the Tafileh wind farm, a joint venture between Inframed, EPGE and Masdar, that will account for almost 6.5 per cent of Jordan’s 1,800MW renewable energy target for 2020.
The 117MW installation will create enough electricity to power 83,000 homes while reducing the country’s carbon emissions by 235,000 tonnes annually.
Both the solar project and the Tafileh wind farm are in line with Jordan’s vision to diversify its energy sources and promote greater reliance on renewable energy.
Jordan imports around 96 per cent of its energy needs at a cost equivalent to 20 per cent of its gross domestic product.
Masdar, owned by Mubadala, has committed more than $1.7 billion to renewable energy developments, with those investments helping to deliver nearly 1 gigawatt of clean power in the United Arab Emirates and many countries across the globe, the statement said.
– See more at: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/uae-company-develop-200mw-solar-plant-jordan#sthash.boGYXvYy.dpuf
——————–
QAIA operator seeks to establish solar farm – Jordan Times
By Mohammad Ghazal – Jan 14,2016
AMMAN — The Airport International Group (AIG) — the Jordanian company responsible for the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) — is planning to implement a project to generate electricity from solar energy at the airport.
The AIG has published a request for expression of interest, inviting companies to submit proposals to build a photovoltaic (PV) solar farm at the airport with a total capacity of up to 10 megawatts.
The company plans to establish a PV solar farm to supply the airport’s electricity needs, according to the expression of interest document published in local media outlets.
The qualified firm or consortium of firms will finance, design and build the PV farm, in addition to obtaining all necessary permits and permissions to operate and maintain the facility for around 16 years, the advertisement said.
Officials at AIG and the airport were not available for comment on the projects.
In Jordan, the annual daily average of solar irradiance ranges from 5-7 kilowatt hours per square metre.
Meanwhile, the wind speed in Jordan is around 10 metres per second in some places in the country, which makes it a favourable location for wind farms.
However, renewable energy projects in Jordan only contribute 3-4 per cent to the national electricity grid.
The Kingdom’s energy strategy entails increasing renewable resources’ contribution to the national energy mix to reach 10 per cent by 2020.
– See more at: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/qaia-operator-seeks-establish-solar-farm#sthash.pJ0fVISO.dpuf