Kingdom’s largest solar plant launched

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Monday announced the official launch of the production phase of the Shams Maan Project for generating electricity from photovoltaic cells, according to a statement by the company.

The project entails electricity generation from solar energy in the Maan Development Area, where it was constructed over an area of 2 million square metres through a $170 million investment, and will have a generating capacity of about 52.5 megawatts (MW) from 605,400 solar panels installed by First Solar Electric to produce about 160 gigawatt hours (GWH) per year.

During the ceremony, Chairman of the Shams Maan Company's board of directors Karim Kawar, highlighted the importance of the project for the Kingdom in securing a future of "clean energy".

He said: “This project is designed in accordance with the highest international standards using sustainable photovoltaic cells for the production of electricity from solar energy”.

Representing another partner in the project, CEO of Nebras Power Fahed Al Muhannadi said that Shams Maan is “a great achievement as it is the largest solar energy plant in the Kingdom”, which he said is an expansion of Qatari investments in the field of power generation in Jordan.

Katsuya Nakanishi, senior vice president and regional CEO for the Middle East and Central Asia at Mitsubishi Corporation, said: “Today, I am honoured to attend the inauguration ceremony of ‘Shams Maan’, the largest PV [photovoltaic] project in Jordan, after the success we had in running the tri-fuel power plant IPP3, which is considered the world’s largest and best power generation plant for diesel engines; generating a capacity of up to 573mW, which has set a... record in the Guinness World Records”.

He also highlighted the positive socioeconomic impact on south Jordan in general and Maan in particular, as the project has helped create 1,400 job opportunities during the construction phase, in addition to 25 permanent jobs during the operation and maintenance phase.