Reeling under high electricity bills, around 2,000 mosques in Jordan will install solar panels on their rooftops. The mosques will install solar panels with a total generating capacity of 4 MW.
There are approximately 6,300 mosques in Jordan. But according to the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Hayel Daoud, only 2,000 of them need to curb their bills. The remaining mosques have their monthly bills running at low levels of 15 to 20 JD ($21 to $28) a month.
The Jordan Times reported last week that Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has signed a 4 million JD ($5.6 million) agreement with the Jordan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund (JREEEF) to increase funding to mosques to support them in increasing their renewable energy installations. The funding will now be increased from 20% to 50%, with the remaining coming from charities and philanthropists.
As of now, 400 mosques in this Middle Eastern nation use solar energy to meet their electricity needs. The mosques that will follow after this announcement are expected to completely procure their energy demands from renewable energy, 'reducing their energy consumption by a minimum of 90%'. Currently, these mosques are spending around 8 million JD ($11.2 million) on their annual energy bills, according to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Saif.
The measure is part of a strategy that JREEEF is working upon to expand the use of clean energy in households, mosques, hotels, public agencies among others, reported Jordan Times.
Jordan is aiming to have 1,800 MW or 10% of its energy supply to come from renewable sources in 2020, of which 600 MW is planned to come from solar power.