Locally-made panels used in 50 MW Jordanian solar project

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The use of more than 200,000 Philadelphia Solar panels in the 50 MW Al Husainiyah photovoltaic project which began generating last week, is likely to have enabled the Jordanian facility to keep its logistics-related carbon footprint down.

Dubai-based clean energy developer AMEA Power today announced the commissioning of the project in the Ma'an governorate of the kingdom, which features solar modules made in Jordan by Amman-based manufacturer and developer Philadelphia.

The panel maker will own 30% of the power plant with AMEA owning the balance of a facility awarded under the second round of Jordan's feed-in tariff program.

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AMEA today said the project, which started commercial operation last Wednesday, employed 400 people during construction and will generate enough electricity to power around 50,000 households. Philadelphia had put that figure at a more modest 42,000 households in a press release it issued in January which predicted commercial operation would start in May.

The project, listed as costing $74 million by Philadelphia eight months ago, received finance from the DEG (Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft) subsidiary of German development bank KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau), and from Netherlands peer FMO (Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden).

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Philadelphia stated the project had secured a 20-year power purchase agreement from Jordan's National Electricity Company, without revealing the tariff which will be paid for the solar energy.

Quoted in today's press release, AMEA Power chairman Hussain Al Nowais said: “We are delighted to announce another great milestone for AMEA Power. This is AMEA Power’s third operational power plant globally and the company’s second operational plant in Jordan. We continue to support Jordan's ambitions to increase the share of renewables in its power mix to 30% by 2030, and to reduce the country’s dependency on fossil fuels.”

AMEA claimed it is near financial close on 1.2 GW of renewable energy generation capacity associated with more than $1 billion worth of projects in Egypt, Tunisia, Cote D'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso.

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