Fund, banks sign deal to finance renewable energy projects

AMMAN — The Jordan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund (JREEEF) on Saturday signed agreements with local banks and the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation (JLGC) to finance renewable energy projects.

The agreements will help speed up the implementation of projects supported by the JREEEF by providing the necessary funds to individuals and small- and medium-sized enterprises, mostly in the industrial and tourism sectors.

Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif said the ministry, through the fund, seeks to reach all components of society and all business sectors, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The agreements were supported by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) which allows banks to use money allocated to the energy sector against low interest rates when funding programmes implemented by the fund.

CBJ Governor Ziad Fariz highlighted the importance of these agreements that represent a new tool for reaching citizens and improving their abilities to reduce electricity consumption by using solar energy.

Rasmi Hamzeh, JREEEF executive director, said the funding programme includes financing households to install solar heaters with up to JD500, installing electricity-generation systems using solar energy in houses with up to JD3,000 and installing electricity-generation systems for SMEs with up to JD250,000, Petra added.

The funding is presented without interest or commission, and the only requirement for borrowers is to repay the actual value of the loan within a maximum of six years for companies or 18 months for solar heater loans, Rasmi said.

He also noted that JLGC guarantees 70 per cent of the value of loans the banks present under the programme.

Saif, in his capacity as JREEEF chairman, Fariz and directors general of the JLGC, Islamic International Arab Bank, Ittihad Bank, Ahli Bank, Jordan Islamic Bank, Cairo Amman Bank and Capital Bank all signed the agreement, according to Petra.

JREEEF was established under the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Law in 2012 as an entity functioning under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The basic purpose of JREEEF is to secure the funding necessary for the exploitation of renewable energy sources and the rationalisation of energy consumption, according to its website.