Jordan minister lays foundation stone for 52MW solar project – PV
Jordan’s energy minister Hala Zawati has laid the foundation stone for a 52MW solar project being developed by a consortium between US-based firm AES Corporation, Japan’s Mitsui and Qatar’s Nebras Power, in Al-Madounah, East Amman.
The US$50 million project, named AM Solar, is being built on a build, own, operate (BOO) basis and connection to the NEPCO grid is expected in 2019, with generation of around 77GWh of power per year, according to a Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources release.
Wind and solar now accounts for 800MW of capacity in Jordan said minister Zawati at the ceremony – adding: “We are working hard to make use of [our 300 days of sun a year] to strengthen our local resources with a clean card that preserves man and the environment. The sun-harvesting farms that spread across the homes of Jordanians in different provinces have become remarkable for lighting and water heating. These projects, in addition to the AM Solar project we are celebrating today, all serve the energy strategy with its four pillars: energy security, energy independence, local energy; reducing production costs.”
Jordan is targeting 1.6GW of renewables by 2020 – roughly 20% of the energy demand of the country.
Wärtsila signed an EPC contract for the project in December 2017, its first utility-scale PV project globally.