Jordan committed to renewable energy
Apr 16 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Taylor Luck Jordan Times,
Amman
Jordan is determined to pursue renewable energy despite difficulties
posed by the international market, a top energy official said on
Thursday.
Addressing a seminar on wind energy hosted by the Danish embassy in
Amman and Vestas yesterday, Minister of Energy Khalid Irani said
attracting investments for renewable energy projects in Jordan "has not
been easy".
Irani attributed the difficulties to unfavourable global market
conditions, a rise in wind energy turbine prices, challenges in
obtaining project financing, and the relatively small size of the
Jordanian market for renewable energy.
Acknowledging the maturity of wind technology, Irani called for the
supply chain of wind turbines to be shortened in order to minimise
construction time and meet demand quicker.
The minister highlighted the Renewable Energy Law, which allows
the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to negotiate with companies
directly and obliges the National Electric Power Company to purchase all
electricity produced by renewable energy projects.
Meanwhile, Danish Ambassador in Amman Thomas Lund-Sorensen highlighted
the growing demand for wind energy technology across the world.
"Renewable energy is no longer a dream but a business on a very large
scale," he noted.
Lund-Sorenson praised the Kindom's energy strategy, noting that calls
for an additional 300MW of electricity each year over the next decade.
"Unfortunately this challenge has not been met fully," he said noting
that with five years left before the strategy's first benchmark, only 1
per cent of the Kingdom's energy mix comes from renewable sources.
The envoy highlighted the need for set feed-in tariffs and clarification
of land ownership rights in areas with good wind flow.
The National Energy Strategy requires 10 per cent of the Kingdom's
energy mix to come from renewable sources and 30 per cent solar water
heater penetration by 2020.
Danish firm Vestas, which has built 30 per cent of the world's wind
turbines, regionally has wind plants operating in Turkey and Egypt, and
can adapt technology to the Kingdom's various climates, according to the
company.
The ministry is currently vetting international offers for the
construction of a an 80-90 megawatt (MW) windfarm in Fujeij near Shobak,
some 200 kilometres south of the capital. According to the minister, the
plant will have the capacity to be expanded to generate 200MW of
electricity
The government is also looking to establish a 40MW wind plant in Kamshah,
north of Jerash, to be built on a build-operate-transfer basis with
financing provided by the World Bank.
Energy imports cost the Kingdom 13 per cent of its gross dometic product
in 2009, with electricity demand expected to grow 7 per cent annually
over the next decade.
(c) 2010,
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