Enviromena, TSK inaugurate Jordan's largest solar plant
The Government of Jordan, along with Abu Dhabi's Enviromena Power Systems and TSK of Spain, today inaugurated the Quweira solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant. Located in the south near Aqaba, the 103 megawatt project is nearly double that of existing plants in the country and spans the size of nearly 300 football fields.
Present at the ceremony included Jordan's Prime Minister, Hani Al Mulki; the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh; chief commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, Nasser Shraideh; Governor of Aqaba, Hijazi Assaf; and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development director, Adel Al Hosani.
Under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Jordan's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, 50/50 joint venture partners Enviromena and TSK completed the construction in 18 months. "The Quweira solar PV project is another notch in Jordan's solar belt, generating 16 percent of all solar capacity in the country," said Sami Khoreibi, CEO of Enviromena. "This will help Jordan not only reach its solar power targets, but cut dependency on fuel imports."
Jordan depends heavily on imports to meet its domestic energy needs, but the addition of renewable energy projects has helped the country decrease its 2016 import bill by 24 percent to $2.7 billion compared to the previous year, according to Jordan's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
Joaquín García Rico, chief executive of TSK, said: "Access to affordable power is important for economic growth, and the Quweira project will help replace nearly 400,000 barrels of oil per year. We are excited to bring this project online and will see many more in the future."
Jordan's Energy Minister, Saleh Kharabsheh, said during the inauguration ceremony that this project will add to other projects that currently generate about 700MW and make up 8 percent of the total energy mix.
