Jordan ranks first in renewable energy capacity

Renewable electricity
An undated photo of Shams Maan solar power plant in Maan, Jordan. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
The Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources published on its official Facebook page an infographic showing that Jordan ranks first in the Arab world in percentage of installed capacity for renewable energy sources.اضافة اعلان

According to the ministry figures the contribution of renewable energy sources to electric power generation projects constituted 29 percent of the electric power generated in the Kingdom in the first half of 2022.

The infographic published by the ministry also shows that Jordan ranks third in the Arab world in the amount of renewable energy used.

Hashim Aaqil, an analyst in oil and energy affairs, told Jordan News that 29 percent of the energy in Jordan comes from renewable energy, i.e., solar and wind power, and that there are projects to generate renewable energy that can be used in some industries, hotels, and homes.

Aaqil added that the percentage is expected to reach 50 percent of the total energy need in 2030, “as every day there is a new development in the renewable energy sector, which helps make the most of renewable energy”.

The percentage could be bigger if the issue of storage is solved.

“Jordan has a problem with regard to renewable energy, which is the lack of storage capacity, as the electrical capacity is approximately 6,500 MW, while consumption is at a rate of 3,500 MW during the days of extreme cold and extreme heat,” he said.

According to him, “the surplus of renewable energy we have either needs storage capacity, which is very expensive due to the high cost of storage batteries, and takes time, or we need to implement some electrical interconnection projects with neighboring countries to take advantage of the surplus”.

The only such project functioning now is the connection with Egypt, he said, adding that “there are projects to link electricity with Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, but they are not currently operational”.

Economic expert Adly Qandah believes that before thinking of interconnected grids, the needs of the domestic market need to be met.

Jordanian citizens, he told Jordan News, do not care about the agreements, but rather expect initiatives to reflect on their living conditions.

“Before thinking of exporting the surplus of electricity, the government should secure the country’s needs, and when the value of the electricity bill of the Jordanian citizen becomes zero dinars, it can start thinking about exporting the surplus,” Qandah said.

He added that the global prices of oil derivatives started to go down, “but citizens’ bills were not affected by this decrease, and instead of encouraging use of renewable energy, fees and taxes on electric cars are raised”.

Economist Sami Shreim told Jordan News that numbers and proposals are nothing but “showoff statements” that “do not address the citizens’ concerns nor reduce the burden on them”.


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