Jordan

Solar deployment continued to pick up in the Middle East and North Africa in 2019, the Middle East Solar Industry Association has said in its annual report.

The French non-governmental organization, which provides solar kits to refugee camps and disaster affected communities, won the energy category of the 12th Zayed Sustainability Prize. The award will bank Electriciens sans frontières $600,000.

The PV project, which was tendered by Jordanian utility NEPCO in 2017, will sell power at $0.059/kWh. The plant is located in Jordan’s Risha region, which is roughly 300 km northeast of Amman.

The Kingdom of Jordan’s government has signed an agreement with Jordan Islamic Bank to facilitate the financing of residential projects under the scheme. Selected projects will be entitled to a 30% rebate for installations up to 3.5 kW.

Although the Wiki-solar website ranking only gives a snapshot of PV project engineering, procurement and construction contracts outside China, it is nevertheless a useful indicator of the changing shape of the global solar market.

When built, the 5 MW solar park will add to two other megawatt scale plants powering Azraq’s refugee camp. The project is expected to be developed with the support of the Spanish government.

With grid capacity a limiting factor, the Middle Eastern country has moved to foster private-to-private solar projects to meet industrial power demand.

Another 35 places of worship will be geared with rooftop PV. Part of the funding for the projects is being provided by the Jordan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund. So far around 500 mosques have been equipped through the program,

The solar tracker supplier is benefiting from a steadily growing PV market and has inked a deal with ABN AMRO Energy Transition Funds for new capital to expand its operations.

Swedish company Azelio is studying whether storage could ensure complete self-sufficiency for the 36,000-strong Azraq camp, which already draws 70% of its electricity from solar generation.