Jordan is installing a 117 MW wind power project in Tafila province, with an estimated cost of around $285 million.
The annual power generating capacity of the plant will be 400 GW and the commercial operation is expected to begin in mid-2015.
The project will execute installation of 38 turbines of 3 MW capacity each.
As per estimates, the cost of electricity generation for every MW per hour will be $120 from the project.
Moreover, the farm is expected to generate electricity in a 25 percent lower cost than thermal energy, lowering the carbon emissions by 40,000 tons per year.
The Jordan Wind Project Company (JWPC) will provide the required supply for the Jordan Electric Power Company (JEPCO) to complete the project. JWPC is a joint project between InfraMed, Masdar in Abu Dhabi, UAE and EP Global Energy.
Tafila wind farm received a loan of $221 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private investment institution.
In addition, The European Investment Bank (EIB), the Eksport Kredit Fonden, the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the Europe Arab Bank and the Capital Bank of Jordan are also financing partners of the project.
In another initiative, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has signed a contract with the Elecnor, a Spanish firm for a wind-power project in Maan, which will be funded by the Gulf grant program, Kuwait Fund for Economic Development.
This project is the first of its kind in Jordan, where wind energy is produced in collaboration with private sector.
It includes installing 33 turbines, each with a rated power of 2 MW each. The cost of the project is estimated to be $112 million. Commercial production is expected to start by 2015.
Jordan’s renewable energy strategy aims at having a 10 percent rise of the total energy and reach around 10 percent of Jordan’s consumed capacity by 2020.
Jordan imports almost 90 percent of the total consumption of its energy needs. The import of energy costs Jordan more than 40 percent of its yearly budget.
The electricity sector in Jordan should meet1,500 MWs by 2020, or 40 percent of the currently available power.