Acwa Power Jordan solar project begins commercial operation

Saudi utilities developer Acwa Power has confirmed that its 50MW photovoltaic (PV) solar Risha independent power project (IPP) has started commercial operation in Jordan.

Saudi utilities developer Acwa Power has confirmed that its 50MW photovoltaic (PV) solar Risha independent power project (IPP) has started commercial operation in Jordan.

The developer signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) with Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco) in 2017 after it had been awarded a contract to develop plant with a tariff of 0.042JD/kWh, setting a record price for renewable energy in Jordan.

The PV plant is located in Risha, a province in eastern Jordan. The plant will provide enough electricity to power 12,000 households.

Jordan is targeting for 20 per cent of its power to be produced by renewable energy resources by 2025.

By the end of 2018, Jordan was producing 1,130MW of power from renewable energy resources, accounting for about 11 per cent of total electricity requirements. By 2021, the installed capacity will have more than doubled to 2,400MW, according to the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources (MEMR).

Jordan has ramped up its installed renewable energy capacity through utility-scale IPP projects in combination with a smaller solar rooftop initiative.

The utility-scale IPP projects have been tendered through a direct proposal programme and directly negotiated IPPs. Projects under the first round of the direct proposal programme were completed in 2016. The first phase, which has a total capacity of 204MW, included the development of 10 PV projects in Ma’an, one in Irbid and one in Aqaba.