Gov’t on path to achieve 25% renewable energy contribution by 2021 — Daradkeh

AMMAN — Renewable energy projects entail costs reaching up to JD180 million on the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) to increase the capacity of the national grid, NEPCO Director General Abdel Fattah Daradkeh said on Sunday.

Daradkeh made the remarks during a press conference announcing the launch of the "Challenges and obstacles for the future of electric power systems" conference, to kick off on Tuesday under the patronage of Prime Minister Hani Mulki, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The director general said that the annual cost of the electric capacity at NEPCO stands at JD350 million, while operational costs reach up to JD200 million, noting that salaries and other expenditures amount to JD1 million per year.

He said that the conference aims at enhancing cooperation and exchange of expertise among stakeholders in the sectors of energy and electricity, as well as discussing challenges facing the future of electric power systems.

The government is interested in investments in the green energy sector which helps in reducing costs, Daradkeh said, adding that the Kingdom is keeping pace with developments in the renewable energy field through developing laws that encourage and attract more projects to the sector. 

He said the renewable energy contribution, both from solar and wind resources to the overall energy mix in the Kingdom is expected to reach 25 per cent by 2021.

Renewable energy projects in Jordan started in 2016 with ten schemes expected to generate 2,700 megawatts of electricity by 2021, 715 megawatts of which will be from wind resources, the NEPCO official pointed out.

He stressed the company's readiness to cope with power loads that may exceed 4,000 megawatts this summer, noting that the maximum load last year stood at 3,300 megawatts.

NEPCO seeks to benefit from renewable energy sources to produce electricity through implementing the Green Corridor project, with a total length of 150 kilometres, which links various locations around the Kingdom, Petra said.

Daradkeh said they expect the project to be ready by the end of this year, adding that the scheme can accommodate up to 1,200 megawatts of renewable energy generated from the first two phases of projects implemented by the public and private sectors. 

The Green Corridor project will help transfer electric power of 800 to 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy from the southern region of the Kingdom to load centres in other regions in the country, according to Petra.