AMMAN — Energy and environment experts argued that
converting waste into renewable energy could reduce Jordan’s high power bill,
and protect the environment.
اضافة اعلان
The call followed a successful move by the
Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) in converting solid waste into energy, which it said
had cut down its electricity bill by nearly 45 percent.
“The conversion of solid waste to energy in various
regions of the capital greatly saved the energy bill for the municipality”,
GAM’s spokesman Nasser Al-Rahamneh told
Jordan News.
Chairman of the
Jordan Environmental Union Omar
Shoshan said that waste “accumulates quickly, and poses an environmental
threat, if it is not treated properly”.
“The best solution lies in converting waste into
energy, especially since it has become an effective source of energy supply,”
he told
Jordan News.
He said: “This must be implemented in some
governorates and regions, especially those hosting refugees, so that it will
reduce the energy bill on the municipalities hosting those communities.”
Shoshan said it was necessary to maintain stable
legislation and regulations regulating alternative energy, “especially since
new laws are legislated every two years, revoking the older ones”.
Environment expert Susan Al-Kilani said that Jordan
should follow the footsteps of developed countries, such as Germany, to achieve
zero waste. “These countries recycle anything they can,” she told
Jordan
News.
She noted that waste constitutes a huge burden on
landfills, and the environment at the same time. “Therefore, converting it into
energy will be beneficial to the environment, in addition to it being a money
saver,” she explained.
She stressed the importance of coordination and
cooperation between the various official bodies to utilize renewable energy to
the maximum.
Despite repeated calls and successful trials using
renewable energy, electric energy is still at the forefront of energy forms
consumers use mostly.
According to recent data issued by the
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the per capita consumption of energy increased
from 778kg in 2020 to 789kg last year, and electricity from 1.703kWh to
1.746kWh, while the percentage of the population supplied with electricity
reached 99.9 percent.
Assistant Secretary-General for Energy Affairs at
the ministry of energy Hassan Al-Hiyari said that despite the high per capita
consumption of electric energy, the “use of renewable energy continued to rise
as well”.
Chief Commissioner of the
Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) Hussein Labboun said that Jordan witnessed a “remarkable
transformations in recent years in the usage of primary, or renewable energy”.
But despite that, the consumption of electric energy
in the Kingdom “has witnessed a growth” nationwide, and at a global level, he
said.
“The reasons are due to the natural growth in
consumption as a result of the increase in the population, in addition to
receiving refugees from brotherly countries,” Labboun told
Jordan News.
Other factors, he added, include urban expansion,
the reopening of economic sectors after the COVID-19 pandemic, and an increase
in the individual requirements for electric energy.
He said that technological development, rising
standards of living, and the use of modern electrical appliances also
contributed to the higher usage and increased demand for energy.
“Climate change, and a marked decrease or rise in
temperatures in the winter and summer seasons sparked an increase in the use of
air conditioners and heating, and contributed to a rise in demand for electric
energy,” Labboun said.
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