Masdar to develop 200MW solar plant in Jordan

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company or Masdar will develop a commercially driven utility scale 200 megawatt photovoltaic solar plant in Jordan.
The agreement comes less than a month after Masdar and its partners inaugurated a 117MW Tafila wind farm in the kingdom.
The solar plant is Masdar's second major investment in Jordan. In December, it had successfully delivered the Tafila wind farm, a joint venture between Inframed, EPGE and Masdar, that will account for 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 Tafila wind farm are in line with Jordan's vision to diversify its energy sources and promote greater reliance on renewable energy and a response to the Kingdom's 2010 renewable energy law, calling for around 15 per cent electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.
Dr Ahmad Belhoul, chief executive officer of Masdar, said: "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. This growth represents a strong business case for renewables, not just in Jordan, but also across the wider Mena region."
Jordan imports around 96 per cent of its energy needs at a cost equivalent to 20 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.
Masdar 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 UAE and many countries across the globe.
Dr Ibrahim Saif, Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, said: "This project is an investment in Jordan's future energy security. It reflects the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah II to reduce the Kingdom's reliance on imported energy and limit our carbon footprint."
He said the project would stimulate the investment climate for similar renewable energy projects in Jordan.
- haseeb@khaleejtimes.com