Gov’t cancels plans to build 5 wind power plants

AMMAN — The government has cancelled plans to accept proposals to build five wind-run power plants with a total capacity of 400 megawatts (MW), according to Energy Minister Mohammad Hamed.

The ministry cancelled the projects due to the grid’s constraints at present and inability to absorb more loads, Hamed said in a phone interview this week.

The grid’s capacity stands at 3,200MW at present and it can accept another 500MW.

“We have already signed agreements for several renewable energy projects and those will be connected to the grid when ready. But we stopped accepting proposals for more plants as we want to expand the capacity of the grid first,” the minister said.

“Once we secure funds to expand the grid’s capacity, we will consider establishing several renewable energy power plants again,” Hamed added.

Earlier this month, the government said it cancelled plans to accept proposals to build four renewable energy power plants with a capacity of 100MW each. 

The ministry cancelled the projects after failing to secure funds from Arab Gulf states to finance the expansion of the national grid’s capacity.

Jordan has one of the highest annual daily averages of solar irradiance in the world with an estimated 330 days of sunshine per year, while wind speeds in the country are as high as 7.5 metres per second and up to 11.5 metres per second in hilly areas.

The Kingdom, which imports about 97 per cent of its energy needs, is working on a series of renewable energy projects that will increase the contribution of local energy resources to the energy mix from the current 3 per cent to 40 per cent by 2020.