Gov’t expects $300m grant from UAE to expand national grid — Hamed

AMMAN — Jordan is awaiting the United Arab Emirates’ approval of a $300 million grant to expand the capacity of the national power grid, according to Energy Minister Mohammad Hamed.

“Once we get the grant, we will be able to offer tenders to expand the capacity of the grid, a matter that will help us resume several renewable energy projects and absorb new capacities,” Hamed told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

Meanwhile, he said the ministry is expected to soon announce the winning bidder to build a 65 megawatt (MW) solar-run power plant in the eastern region.

The $150 million solar power plant will be implemented on an engineering, procurement and construction basis and be owned by the government, according to the minister.  

“The grid’s capacity is expected to be increased by 1,000MW and this will help significantly in supporting renewable energy projects,” Hamed noted.

In late August, the government cancelled plans to accept proposals to build five wind-run power plants with a total capacity of 400MW due to the national grid’s constraints and inability to absorb more loads.

The grid’s capacity currently stands at 3,200MW and it can accept another 500MW.

In early August, the government also cancelled plans to accept proposals to build four renewable energy power plants with a capacity of 100MW each. 

Jordan has one of the highest annual daily averages of solar irradiance in the world with an estimated 330 days of sunshine per year, while wind speeds in the country are as high as 7.5 metres per second and up to 11.5 metres per second in hilly areas.

The Kingdom, which imports about 97 per cent of its energy needs, is working on a series of renewable energy projects that will increase the contribution of local energy resources to the energy mix from the current 3 per cent to 40 per cent by 2020.