So far Jordan has done more than any Arab country in renewable energy integration, but we’re still learning
National Energy Strategy to scale-up renewables to 10 percent of the total energy mix by 2020.
“The renewable energy sector is booming in Jordan,” said Rasmi Hamzeh, executive director at Jordan Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Fund (JREEEF), which has earmarked almost 50 million dinars for projects up to 2018.
“We are building the capacity of the sector, investing in those areas that are taking subsidies from the government and supporting the shift to clean energy sources.”
The Jordanian government spends around 200 million dinars a year on energy subsidies, he added, accounting for a substantial portion of the country’s crippling national debt.
Jordan relies on importing around 97 percent of its energy needs from resourcerich neighbors, but regional conflicts have shut down many of these former supply routes.
In 2014, debt accrued by NEPCO exceeded 4.5 billion dinars after the government was forced to pay independent power producers to fill the gap when cheap Egyptian gas supplies were disrupted.
With the increase in oil prices pushing up the price of fuel on the international market, the Jordanian government is turning to renewables to meet the demands of a growing population.
“So far Jordan has done more than any Arab country in renewable energy integration, but we’re still learning,” said Shukri Halaby, COO at Mustakbal, a Jordanian company that specializes in providing solar power systems.
“Jordan has a small grid and while there are complaints from developers, there is really too much demand for renewables; they can’t open the tap to everybody.”
Some 1,400 companies are currently operating in Jordan’s renewable energy sector, with more opening up all the time. “Competition has become very aggressive, with a big increase in demand for renewables since 2012,” said Merissa Crook, business development manager at FB Group, a Jordanian engineering company specializing in renewable energy systems.
Rising electricity rates in recent years helped fuel this trend as Jordanians sought more cost- and energy-efficient solutions. The passing of the 2012 Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Law paved the way, laying out a legal framework to facilitate investment and drive growth in the sector.
According to Walid Shahin: “This was the starting point for the revolution in renewable energy in Jordan. Before this, you couldn’t invest (in the sector) or have your own photovoltaic in your house or business.”
Since then, solar panels have become a familiar sight, appearing on the roofs of schools, mosques, government buildings and private homes across the country.
Universities, too, have been quick to harness the advantages of solar power. FB Group is currently completing work on a 2.1MW project at the German Jordanian University (GJU).
Designed to cover the total electricity consumption of the university, the 2.3 million dinar project is expected to provide