Kingdom ‘on track’ to meet 2020 green energy target

AMMAN — Jordan, which leads the Arab world in renewable energy projects, is on track to generate 10 per cent of its power needs via wind and solar projects by 2020, an official said Thursday.

The percentage is set as a target for green energy’s contribution to the country’s power mix under a national energy strategy.

Jordan, which currently produces 3-4 per cent of its electricity through renewable energy projects, is witnessing “great momentum” in the sector and has attracted world-renowned companies with decades of experience to invest in such projects in the Kingdom, Haidar Gammaz, spokesperson of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

“Jordan is placing a heavy emphasis on projects in the fields of solar and wind power. It was the first Arab country to endorse legislation governing this sector,” said the official.

“We are certainly on track to achieve our target and work is under way on upgrading the national energy strategy to boost the percentage of renewable energy contribution to the overall energy mix in the Kingdom. This reflects the government’s keenness to diversify energy sources, preserve the environment and optimally utilise local energy resources to meet the rising demand on electricity,” said Gammaz.

In Jordan, the annual daily average of solar irradiance ranges from 5-7 kWh/m2, which is almost twice the ratio in Germany, which by mid-2015 generated 34 per cent of its electricity via renewable energy projects, according to experts and officials in the sector. 

Jordan will have solar and wind projects with a total capacity of 1,600 MW by 2020, according to Gammaz, who added that a project will start soon to expand the capacity of the national grid to enable it to absorb more loads generated by renewable energy projects.

When completed, the project will help open the door for more projects in the field of green energy. 

Currently, the Kingdom’s annual electricity generation stands at 4,600 MWH.