Saudi investor acquires majority stake in local green energy project

AMMAN — Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power International said on Saturday it acquired 70 per cent of Sunrise Solar Energy Psc, which is developing a 50-megawatt solar power plant in Mafraq Governorate, a statement by the Saudi company said.

The value of the deal was not revealed, but experts estimate that a plant of such capacity is worth more than $200 million.

The project, which is expected to be completed in August 2017, will offer electricity at JD0.043 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

The average household retail price of a kilowatt, according to the current tariff is JD0.131.

The project will be located at Al Hussein Bin Talal Development Zone in Mafraq, which will also house two other renewable energy power plants, each of which has the same capacity of Sunrise.

The environment-friendly project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emission by 2.3 million tonnes, company executives have said.

In December 2015, the government and Saudi company, ACWA Power, signed an agreement to revamp Al Hussein Thermal Power Station at a capacity of 485 megawatts and a $500 million investment.

Jordan, which currently imports 97 per cent of its energy needs annually, has signed several agreements for renewable energy projects. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, several projects are implemented or under implementation, and by 2020, Jordan will have solar- and wind-power projects with a total capacity of 1,600 megawatts.

Currently, renewable energy contributes to 3-4 per cent of the national electricity grid and the figure is scheduled to reach 10 per cent by 2020. 

In Jordan, the annual daily average of solar irradiance ranges between 5-7 kWh/m2, which is almost twice the ratio in Germany, which by mid-2015 generated 34 per cent of its electricity via renewable energy projects. The wind speed in some areas in Jordan can reach up to 10 metres per second.