New solar panel farm to provide 55% of New Azraq Municipality’s monthly energy needs

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Administration Tawfiq Kreishan on Wednesday attended the opening of a solar panel farm to generate clean electricity for the New Azraq Municipality. 

The farm — funded by the Municipal Services and Social Adaptation Project is managed by the Ministry of Local Administration and a number of donor agencies — helps produce around half a megawatt of electricity, enough to light municipal buildings, streets and roads. 

World Bank Resident Representative in Jordan Holly Benner and Project Manager Tawfiq Al Khawatrah attended the opening ceremony of the six-dunnum project, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The farm will provide the municipality with around 55 per cent of its monthly energy needs. This amount may exceed the municipality's needs when the lighting units in streets, roads and municipal facilities are replaced with energy-saving LED lights, Khawatrah said.

Benner stressed that the World Bank and donor countries are keen to support various sectors in Jordan, including municipalities, that face various challenges, especially those resulting from the Syrian refugee crisis. 

New Azraq Municipality Mayor, Yahya Zeinaldeen, said that the farm, at a cost of $468,000, will help cut the municipality's energy bill by JD120,000.