Renewable Energy Sector Overview
1. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is an importer of electric power and this increases the ratio of imported energy to GDP and leads to a great pressure on the balance of payments and the continued need for foreign currencies to finance the purchase of energy needs of the Kingdom, which requires the search for alternative conventional energy, renewable energy is considered one of the most important alternative sources available in the Kingdom, and since the strategies are flexible enough to keep abreast of developments and events, the renewable energy strategy has been adjusted to reach 20% of the total energy mix in 2020, the strategy focused on developing ways to exploit various renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, thermal, underground, hydro, and any other natural resources, in order to contribute to increasing the percentage of renewable energy from the total energy mix, which would reduce the oil bill and diversification of energy sources and environmental protection to achieve sustainable development.
2. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has a clear richness in renewable energies (renewable energy is the result of natural and inexhaustible sources including solar, wind, hydropower and bioenergy), especially solar energy with potential for high average direct solar radiation and this is because of the occurrence of the Kingdom in the so-called solar belt countries, which are areas between latitudes 25 North and 25 South, various scientific studies have shown that the number of days when the sun shines on the Kingdom is 316 days per year and an average of 8 hours per day. As for wind energy, it is considered one of the best sources of renewable energy to generate electricity in the Kingdom as many areas in the Kingdom are characterized by wind speeds ranging from 7-8.5 meters per second which is suitable speed to build stations that use wind energy to generate electricity.
3. The reliance on renewable energy has become a global feature and an area of international cooperation and exchange of experiences in this area, and to secure the legislative environment for institutions concerned with the renewable energy sector has been issued many laws, regulations and instructions in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the first is the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Law No. 13 of 2012 to regulate all matters related to renewable energy, to encourage reliance on renewable energy sources systems for generating electric power, to encourage investment and competition in the sector, and to encourage production and manufacturing inputs and any equipment that helps to conserve energy in general. And the instructions provided for in this law to achieve these objectives. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, in cooperation with the specialized technical centers and authorities, is working on plans to improve the sector and optimize its utilization through coordination with the licensee to provide wholesale and tender or solicit bids on competitive basis to develop one or more sites included in the list of approved lands in accordance with the provisions of the law renewable energy and energy conservation for electricity generation purposes. The renewable energy sector in the Kingdom is regulated and monitored by the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) by identifying the different responsibilities of the licensees and granting them the necessary licenses under the laws, instructions and regulations in force to conduct various activities on the basis of a balance between the interests of consumers, licensees, investors and any other related parties.
4. The past years have witnessed a remarkable growth in the increasing dependence on renewable energy through the completion of many projects in addition to the signing of a number of energy purchase agreements that pave the way for the establishment of future projects in the field of renewable energy also the Kingdom witnessed a remarkable growth in the use of solar energy to cover private consumption of houses and places of worship in addition to the introduction of these systems in the sector Commercial, hotel and industrial through net measurement and transit systems.
5. On the other hand, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, represented by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in partnership with the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, seeks to reduce the waste of electricity and misuse of electricity by spreading energy awareness among citizens and inform them on the impact of the wrong and inefficient use of electrical energy and its negative impact on their consumption.