Minister of Water and Irrigation, Raed Abu Soud, on Sunday announced the start of commercial operation of the solar photovoltaic energy project, with a capacity of 24 megawatts, in the southern Disi district. Speaking at the launching ceremony, the minister said the project is the first of its kind in Jordan’s water sector as a “strategic” solar energy project with a peak capacity of 33 megawatts. Abu Soud added that the project’s importance stems from the economic feasibility of reducing electricity costs for beneficiary subscriptions by carrying out energy transfer for each of the two Zay water stations by 70% and 30% for Wadi Al-Arab station. He noted approximately 80 gigawatt-hours will be generated during the first year of the project’s operation, adding that it is viewed a “high” generating capacity, thanks to integrating latest technology in the solar energy field. The minister added that double-sided solar panels and related tracking systems are used in the project, in addition to its design based on increasing the number of peak solar hours. Additionally, he expressed the ministry’s thanks to the European Union, Ministry of Energy, Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) and the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) for their efforts in providing this opportunity to establish the solar energy station by Jordan Water Authority (JWA). The project, he noted, is funded by a EU grant worth ?30 million, part of which was allocated to establishing an energy storage station via batteries on the national electricity grid linked to the enterprise, in addition to a 1 MW solar energy project at Zara Ma’in station. The project will contribute an estimated 2.5% renewable energy, which in turn will contribute to sustainability of water

Source: Jordan News Agency