'Renewable energy development projects to achieve goals ahead of schedule'

AMMAN — Renewable energy projects under construction and development are expected to conclude in 2021 with a combined power generating capacity of some 1,270 megawatts (MW), Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati said on Tuesday.

Overall renewable energy contributions to the national power mix will increase to 20 per cent, Zawati said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Notably, the timeline for the power mix diversification project, which entails boosting reliance on renewable energy sources, was scheduled to conclude in 2025.

According to the minister, the objectives of the project, pertaining to renewable energy sources, will be met ahead of time, with years to spare.

By the end of 2018, renewable energy sources generated 1,130MW, which is expected to increase by 2021, with the conclusion of under way projects, to 2,400MW, Zawati noted.

As of today, renewable sources contribute to some 11 per cent of Jordan’s power mix, compared with 1 per cent in 2014, she said.

Solar energy systems for houses, universities, places of worship and public and private institutions sectors that are linked to the power grid, generated a total capacity of 360MW by the end 2018, Zawati underlined.

Power generated from these integrated solar power units is equivalent to the output of a 4,500-dunum solar energy farm, she said.

The minister added that the government is continuing with licensing renewable energy projects with generating capacities below 1MW, to cover the needs of small industries, places of worship, schools, government buildings and other enterprises.

The ministry has so far implemented several solar energy projects over phases since 2016, with 12 separate projects, with a total capacity of 204MW, she mentioned.

Ten of those projects were established in Maan, one in Irbid and another in Aqaba, Zawati explained.

The ministry implemented the second phase of the solar energy projects with a capacity of 200MW, while the third phase with 150MW is being carried out in Maan and is expected to start operation in 2020, she said.

As for wind farm projects, they were all implemented in the southern regions of the Kingdom, with a total capacity of 420MW across six schemes, three in Tafileh and three in Maan, the minister concluded.