Small, medium industries invited to benefit from solar energy-generated electricity

AMMAN — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources announced on Wednesday that it is opening the door for small and medium industries to benefit from 100MW generated through solar complexes in the south of the Kingdom to cover their consumption of electric power at a minimum capacity of 25MW for each assembly; aiming to serve industries and enhance their competitiveness.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati stressed the importance of the decision in supporting Jordanian industries, especially the small and medium ones, because supporting them is one of the important objectives of the government, pointing out that this support will increase the competitiveness of Jordanian goods and reduce operating expenses, which pose a major challenge for these industries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In this regard, Zawati said that the ministry decided to allocate 100MW of the network's capacity, which is a part of 300MW allocated for the third phase of offers to benefit from the ministry's renewable energy projects, to cover consumption needs of medium and small industries through establishing solar complexes with a minimum capacity of 25MW per assembly.

The decision comes after the reduction of the number of third phase projects to four, including three solar cell projects and one wind power project.

The third phase renewable energy as well as the solar complexes of industries will be linked to the ministry's Green Corridor project, which is being implemented by the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and is expected to be completed by the end of 2018, according to Petra.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources announced at the beginning of December 2016 the third round of direct offers for renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 300MW, where each project is supplied 50MW, 

The energy projects consist of four for solar cells and two for wind power.

The ministry is expected to publish details on the project after consultation with the private sector, represented by the chambers of industry and in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Supply, NEPCO and the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission.