Government designates land for 100MW solar energy projects

AMMAN — The government on Wednesday announced designating 2,000 dunums in east Amman for the establishment of a 100-megawatt (MW) solar power project to support the renewable energy sector.

Energy Minister Hala Zawati explained during a meeting with industrialists, in the presence of Trade Minister Tareq Hammouri, that the land lot will be allocated for lease against reasonable prices.

Zawati estimates that 167 industrial facilities will benefit from the project.

Aside to the overall benefits of boosting reliance on renewable energy, the minister explained that it also aims to reduce power costs for small- and medium-sized industries. 

Earlier, the Cabinet announced a three-year special-tax exemption on natural gas imports for industries.

The decision to cut it from 7 to zero per cent was also aimed at supporting the industrial shift from traditional heavy fuels to natural gas, Zawati explained.

It could reduce energy costs by 20 to 50 per cent, she underlined.

As part of the underway effort to support the small industrial sector, the Cabinet unified the respective energy tariff for both small and medium industries, Zawati added.

She continued to explain that the ministry had adopted a clear and comprehensive mechanism for the implementation of infrastructural shifts towards natural gas for industrial use.

According to Zawati, the strategy was devised in cooperation with the Jordan Chamber of Industry, the Jordanian-Egyptian FAJR for Natural Gas Transmission and Supply Company, the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and the Jordan Industrial Estate Company.

Minister Hammouri also stressed that the shift to natural gas is crucial to improving industrial competitiveness and productivity.

Amman Chamber of Industry General Manager Nael Hussami concurred with Hammouri’s statement, adding that heavy fuel and diesel have proven quite unreliable in terms of operational costs, and therefore competitiveness.

These decisions would encourage the shift on the industrial level, he noted.

Hussami said that allocating the piece of land in Manakher would reduce electricity costs and encourage the industrial sector to expand production, noting that the cost of electricity amounts to nearly 42 per cent of the operational costs at some secondary sectors. 

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in July announced it has opened its doors to connecting small and medium industries to the 100MW solar power plant in the south.

The minimum power consumption floor was per assembly was set at 25MW.

In 2016, NEPCO and FAJR signed an agreement to provide local industries with natural gas at a daily average of 1.98 million cubic metres.