Jordan: Nebras Power, AES and Mitsui & Co. split shares in 52 MW PV plant

Nebras Power, the Doha-based state-owned company, announced that it has entered a shareholder agreement to develop a 52 MW solar PV plant in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, alongside U.S. power group AES and Japanese industrial and energy giant Mitsui & Co.

The Qatari company has acquired a 24% stake in the solar PV project located at Al Manakher, 25km east of the capital city of Jordan, Amman, which will be built, owned and operated by the three partner companies.

Earlier in April, AES and Mitsui & Co., which back then indirectly owned 60% and 40% project stakes respectively, inked a 20-year PPA with the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), which is set to come into force with the commencement of commercial operation, planned to occur in 2019.

With the total project cost assessed at $ 50 million, Nebras noted that construction and financing contract are close to being finalized.

“The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is an important country for Nebras Power, where it seeks to expand its investments as Jordan has a steady growth in energy demand and has an established framework for independent power producers. We are proud to invest in our fourth project in Jordan in a short period of time,” said Faisal Obeid al-Siddiqi, Nebras Power chief business development officer, said referring to the company’s earlier Jordan-based projects including: Jordan after Amman East, IPP4 Al Manakhar and Shams Maan Power Plants.

Struggling to meet its energy requirements due to a combination of economic growth and demographic factors such as population growth and an influx of refugees from neighboring Syria, Jordan its looking to diversify its energy mix and reduce its heavy reliance on energy imports. Striving towards its 2020 PV target of 200 MW, the Middle Eastern country has so far run three solar tenders, each of which comprised 200 MW of capacity, in addition to net metering driving the growth in the residential solar sector.