Seminar focuses on benefits of 'clean energy'

AMMAN — Increased adoption of renewable energy resources will not only help create jobs, but also secure the Kingdom a sustainable source of clean energy, officials said on Wednesday.

They underscored the significance of energy efficiency in Jordan, which annually imports about 97 per cent of its energy needs at a total of 20 per cent of the gross domestic product.

"Jordan has already embarked on several projects in the field of renewable energy and several others will be implemented in the near future," Ghaleb Maabrah, secretary general of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said at a seminar held by the French Institute and the Royal Scientific Society on "Energy Transition".

Maabrah stressed that reducing the cost of electricity generated via renewable energy projects is vital for increased adoption of renewable energy resources.

Renewable energy projects with total capacity of 400 megawatts will be operational in 2015, creating some 2,000 jobs, he added.

According to the ministry, renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 1,800 megawatts will be connected to the gird by 2018.

In her address at the seminar, French Ambassador in Amman Caroline Dumas said transition towards renewable energy and focusing on energy efficiency is fundamental in Jordan, especially with the rising demand on electricity, 

According to experts, demand on electricity rises by 6 per cent annually.

Noting that new projects in the field create more jobs for Jordanians and help the economy, the ambassador said French companies are ready to collaborate with Jordanian counterparts in this regard.

Electricity generated through renewable energy projects is expected to scale up by 45 per cent from 2013 to 2020, according to the International Energy Agency.