Amman municipality installing solar-powered lamps on BRT route

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) this week started installing some 20 solar-powered LED lamps along the routes of the Amman Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), an official said Wednesday.

“This is the start of the pilot phase of a major project that we seek to implement across Amman,”  GAM Spokesperson Mazen Al Farajeen told The Jordan Time over the phone.

The municipality plans to install more than 25,000 solar-powered LED lamps across the capital’s streets to reduce the energy bill, he said.

Currently, the annual bill for lighting Amman’s streets stands at JD10 million, according to Farajeen, who added that when the project is completed it will reduce the bill by 50 per cent.

“The project has many benefits in terms of reducing costs and making good use of a local energy source that is available throughout the year.”

The plan is in line with the municipality’s strategy to turn Amman into a green city by expanding the adoption of renewable energy to protect the environment, Farajeen noted.

Jordan, which imports about 97 per cent of its energy needs, is witnessing an increasing demand on installing solar systems for generating power. 

Embassies, ministries, factories, households and many other entities are currently focusing on installing such systems, especially since Jordan has sunshine for more than 330 days a year.

The country’s national energy strategy seeks to increase renewable energy contribution to the overall energy mix to 10 per cent by 2020.