Jordan signs agreement with UAE company on solar power plant

Jordan signed an agreement Saturday with a United Arab Emirates (UAE) company to build a 200-megawatt photovoltaic plant, the largest solar plant in Jordan, said a statement from Jordan's Ministry of Energy.

The announcement followed the agreement between the ministry and Masdar, UAE's renewable energy company, marking the "forward progress of a significant investment in Jordan's energy security," said Ibrahim Saif, Jordan's Energy Minister, in the statement.

The solar power plant will raise the international profile of Jordan as a key destination for utility-scale renewable energy projects, Saif said.

He also mentioned that the project would stimulate local job creation and knowledge transfer, and further incentivize the adoption of commercial clean energy in the Middle East and North Africa.

The agreement further strengthens the deep-rooted cooperation between Jordan and the UAE, said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, adding that the agreement "builds on the success of the region's first utility-scale wind farm that Masdar and its partners inaugurated in Jordan last year."

The solar power plant will be linked to Al Muwaqqar substation located approximately 10 km outside Amman.

Once connected to the national grid, it will provide the annual power needs to around 110,000 homes and displace an estimated 360,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

Jordan, which imports 97 percent of its annual energy needs, is working in several renewable energy projects to meet its electricity demand that rises by six percent annually.

Current renewable energy contribution stands at 3-4 percent in Jordan and the Kingdom has plans to boost it to 20 percent by 2020. Endit