Fotowatio starts commercial operations at latest Jordan project

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Saudi-owned Fotowatio Renewable Ventures today announced the start of commercial operations at the 66.7 MW Al Safawi Solar Plant in northern Jordan.

The 150-hectare PV plant is the third to be developed in Jordan by Fotowatio, which was acquired by Saudi power company Abdul Latif Jameel Energy in 2015, and takes the developer’s solar portfolio in the nation to 150 MW, following the Mafraq I and Mafraq II projects.

Fotowatio said the Al Safawi plant comprises 200,000 polysilicon panels mounted on single-axis trackers. Having created 280 jobs during construction, the facility will power 21,000 Jordanian homes.

Funding

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The installation was funded by a $65 million loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Finance for Development Society of the Netherlands, secured in 2017. The loan was granted to Fotowatio through the Green Energy PSC joint venture the developer holds a 70% stake in, alongside Jordanian developer Arabia Trading and Consulting Co, part of the Arabia Group Jordanian holding company.

Engineering, procurement and construction services for the project were provided by Spanish company TSK, said Fotowatio.

The Saudi business has predicted it will attract $4 billion of investment over the next five years and intends to use the funds to expand its global installed capacity of renewable energy to 900 MW this year and 5.8 GW by 2024.

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