Jordan moves towards renewable energy production

Jordan is preparing to sign contracts for projects aimed at diversifying energy sources in the kingdom, which imports around 96% of the energy it consumes annually, officials said. 

The government in mid-June concluded negotiations on one such project -- designed to generate 470 megawatts of electricity from the country's vast shale oil reserves -- with an international company. The kingdom is "committed to implementing the national energy strategy and will announce in the next few months the agreements it has signed with international companies in the wind and solar energy fields", Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Mohammed Hamed told Al-Shorfa. 

Through Jordan's 2007-2020 National Energy Strategy, which aims to reduce energy imports from 96% to 61%, the government has pledged to upgrade the energy sector by taking advantage of local resources such as shale oil and renewable energy -- readily available due to the country's sunny weather and windy climate.

The upcoming projects "will generate a total energy output of 1,350 megawatts", Hamed said.These electricity-generating projects, taken from wind, solar and shale oil resources, will come into effect by 2017 and be linked to the national electricity grid, he said. 

Hamed credited the Gulf Co-operation Council with providing grants and aid to enable Jordan to implement some of the projects. "The year 2018 will be an important year for the energy sector in Jordan as we will rely on local energy sources," he said.Currently, Jordan's increasing population, in addition to swelling numbers of Syrian refugees, are escalating demand for electricity, the minister said.

Supporting competitive economy

"Energy is considered one of Jordan's most important strategic sectors," economist Hossam Ayesh told Al-Shorfa. "The kingdom spends five billion Jordanian dinars ($7.1 billion) annually to import energy and electricity from abroad." To diversify energy resources in Jordan, such projects must have the support of all political, legislative and economic sectors, he said. "Energy and an increased share of local sources in Jordan's energy mix will help support the national economy, particularly the industrial sector, which employs many Jordanians," he said. 

The high cost of energy is one of the main challenges facing the industrial sector, he said. Local production would reduce those costs as well as boost the competitiveness of Jordanian goods, he added. "Implementing the proposed projects in Jordan would make it into an energy-exporting country in the next five years including to neighbouring countries, thus strengthening joint Arabic co-operation in the energy sector," Ayesh said. Jordan Environment Society head Ahmed al-Kofahi told Al-Shorfa his association backs renewable energy projects. 

"As environmental experts, we support renewable energy because it is clean energy and does not cause air and environmental pollution as do conventional energy projects that use diesel or gas," he said. Jordan is a pioneering country when it comes to renewable energy sources, al-Kofahi said, and these are "better than the nuclear option for Jordan since the latter could bring several environmental hazards in the future". 

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