Huson college to install solar backup generators

AMMAN — Al Huson University College is planning to install generators with a solar photovoltaic (PV) system for energy backup, with the tender expected to be floated next month, according to the National Centre for Research and Development (NCRD).

The project entails installing commercial-scale PV solar power plants — ranging from 50 to 100 kilowatts — at the college, which is affiliated with Balqa Applied University, Isam Mustafa, assistant president and director of the energy programme at the NCRD, said on Tuesday.

“We and our partner in the project, Trama TecnoAmbiental of Spain, are in the process of preparing the tender documents, and the tender is expected to be floated next month,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The winning bidder to install the PV system is expected to be announced during the last quarter of this year and the project is likely to be operational at the end of May of 2015, Mustafa added.

“The project will help reduce energy costs and raise awareness about the importance of solar energy. It will also have a positive impact by spreading the culture of adopting clean energy and will be used for educational purposes,” he noted.

The installation of the PV system at the university is part of the MED-SOLAR project, which seeks to promote and implement innovative technologies, as well as transfer know-how in the field of solar energy, particularly PV systems, in the target countries: Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine

Last year, MED-SOLAR organised three workshops in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine and four pilot projects will be soon implemented in order to validate the prototypes of energy management systems developed for grids connected with diesel backup PV systems, the NCRD said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

During the last six months, partners of the target countries, the NCRD, UNDP in Lebanon, and the Energy Research Centre of Palestine, published a call for potential beneficiaries to install the PV solar power plants. 

The results of the three expressions of interests will be soon published on MED-SOLAR’s website, the statement said.

MED-SOLAR is implemented under the ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. 

Its total budget is around 3 million euros and is partly financed by the EU through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.