A 103 MW solar power plant has been commissioned in Jordan by Abu Dhabi based EPC provider Enviromena Power Systems. The project is funded by a grant from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and is owned by the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR).
For this project, Enviromena launched a joint venture with Spanish EPC company TSK that managed the execution of the PV plant. The JV signed a 25-year PPA with the country's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
The Quweira Solar PV Power Plant is located in the south of the country near Aqaba and spreads over an area covering 3 km2. Set up for over $120 million, it is designed to generate more than 2.5% of the total electricity production in Jordan and 16% of all solar power capacity.
It is connected to the 220 kV Jordanian national grid through a substation built specifically for this project. Construction of the project was completed in 18 months.
MEMR had awarded the contract for this project back in December 2015. This is the country's largest solar power plant as of now. Another Abu Dhabi venture, Masdar, is building the 200 MW Baynouna solar PV project in Jordan, which is scheduled to come online in Q1/2020. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has arranged a financing package of $188 million for this 200 MW project that it calls 'the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Jordan to date' (see Jordan's Largest PV Plant Gets IFC Financing).
According to MEMR, renewable energy projects have helped Jordan bring down its electricity import expenses by 24% to $2.7 billion in 2016. This new project will help replace almost 400,000 barrels of oil annually, said Joaquín García Rico, Chief Executive of TSK.
During the inauguration ceremony, Jordan's Energy Minister Saleh Kharabshehsaid that this project will add to other projects that currently generate about 700MW and make up 8%of the total energy mix.
Jordan is one of the Middle East's countries that will see major large scale PV installation activity in 2018, according to MESIA's estimates (see Middle East PV Pipeline In 2018: 11.8 GW).