Industrial sector to benefit from solar energy scheme

AMMAN — The Kingdom's chambers of industry will soon float an executive tender for a solar energy project allocated to the industrial sector, President of the Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI) Fathi Jaghbir said on Monday. 

Jaghbir said that the project aims at providing electricity to factories at preferential prices and enhancing the competitiveness of national industries locally and internationally, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He also praised the efforts of the Energy Ministry to support the scheme, according to Petra.

During a meeting with representatives from various industrial companies that have expressed their intention to benefit from the project, the ACI president said that 70 companies have so far expressed interest in the scheme, which has a total capacity of 80 megawatts. 

He expected that the capacity will reach 100 megawatts by the end of January.

Jaghbir, who also heads the Jordan Chamber of Industry, said that since announcing the Cabinet’s approval of the project in the second half of 2018, a joint technical committee was established by the involved chambers of industry to follow up on procedures to implement the scheme and acquire the necessary approvals.

He added that approvals have been issued by stakeholders, resulting in the allocation of a plot of land for the venture and permission to link 100 megawatts to the electric grid, Petra reported.

For his part, ACI Director General Nael Hussami said that a contract for the establishment of a consumer company has been prepared to clarify the process for joining the project and the mechanism to distribute shares as per regulations issued under the 2012 Renewable Energy and Energy Rationalisation Law.

During the meeting, attendees set the end of January as the deadline for industrial companies to express interest in benefitting from the project.

The company's board of directors is to be elected after the executive tender is floated, according to Petra.