UAE company to develop 200MW solar plant in Jordan

AMMAN — Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, on Wednesday announced an agreement to develop a commercially driven utility-scale 200 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar plant for the Energy Ministry.

The agreement comes less than one month after Masdar and its partners inaugurated the 117MW Tafileh wind farm in the Kingdom, a statement from the company said.

The agreement was formalised during the World Future Energy Summit, part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week — an annual gathering on sustainability in the Middle East.

“Jordan is a key market for Masdar in the MENA region. With regional energy demand set to double by 2030, we believe the majority of that growth will be met from renewable energy," the statement quoted Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of Masdar, as saying.

"This growth represents a strong business case for renewables, not just in Jordan, but also across the wider MENA region,” he added.

Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif said: “This project is an investment in Jordan’s future energy security. It reflects the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah to reduce the Kingdom’s reliance on imported energy and limit our carbon footprint." 

"We believe the project will stimulate the investment climate for similar renewable energy projects in Jordan and will strengthen our status as a new and important destination for renewable energy investments in the region," the statement quoted Saif as saying.

The announced solar plant is Masdar’s second major investment in Jordan, the statement said. 

In December, it delivered the Tafileh wind farm, a joint venture between Inframed, EPGE and Masdar, that will account for almost 6.5 per cent of Jordan’s 1,800MW renewable energy target for 2020. 

The 117MW installation will create enough electricity to power 83,000 homes while reducing the country’s carbon emissions by 235,000 tonnes annually.

Both the solar project and the Tafileh wind farm are in line with Jordan’s vision to diversify its energy sources and promote greater reliance on renewable energy. 

Jordan imports around 96 per cent of its energy needs at a cost equivalent to 20 per cent of its gross domestic product.

Masdar, owned by Mubadala, has committed more than $1.7 billion to renewable energy developments, with those investments helping to deliver nearly 1 gigawatt of clean power in the United Arab Emirates and many countries across the globe, the statement said.