Kingdom chairs energy platform meeting

AMMAN — Jordan chaired on Thursday the annual energy platform meeting held in Istanbul as part of the Mediterranean Green Week. 

In her speech during the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) session, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Amani Azzam said that this year’s meeting is distinguished by being held during the Mediterranean Green Week, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Holding the session as part of the week increases opportunities for dialogue, knowledge exchange, partnership building and cooperation, as well as working hard to overcome challenges in energy, environment, and climate change to achieve economic and social progress among the 43 UfM member states, Azzam said.

She described the meeting as an opportunity to follow up and evaluate the implementation of the priorities set out in the ministerial declaration of June 14th 2021, through implementing action plans, initiatives, programmes and joint projects. 

The secretary-general noted that the energy transition has become a reality that touches the daily life, supported by global trends, most notably the Conference of the Parties summits recommendations to double international commitments to reducing emissions using all available means, primarily renewable energy and energy efficiency. 

She pointed out that the installed capacities in Jordan from solar and wind energy projects for electricity generation have reached about 2,700 megawatts, contributing some 26.3 per cent of the generated electricity, mostly from commercial projects and private sector investors and financiers.

Azzam said that Jordan ranked first in the region in terms of the installed capacity ratio for renewable energy sources to generate electricity, excluding hydropower, according to the Arab Future Energy Index report for 2022 prepared by the Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

Regarding green hydrogen in the Kingdom, she said that a roadmap and study of strengths and available opportunities have been prepared, along with a national strategy for green hydrogen, which serves as a reference document indicating the potential to produce 500,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030, including 100,000 metric tonnes for export and the remainder for local consumption.

The ministry official stressed that this capacity would provide 11,200 job opportunities, where the ministry is considering the necessary legislation for investing in green hydrogen and providing a shared infrastructure for the expected projects as much as possible.

Azzam stressed that the Kingdom has always been, and continues to be, within its current role in the co-presidency of the week, a contributing and supportive country for any cooperation among the UfM countries.