The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of $ 70 million to Green Watts Renewable Energy for the construction of an 86 MW wind power plant in the Ma'an governorate of southern Jordan.
The plant is the first wind project developed under round one of Jordan's renewable energy feed-in-tariff programme and will increase the country’s installed wind capacity by around 40%, the EBRD said in a statement.
The total project cost for the Al Rajef wind farm amounts to $185 million. The EBRD loan will be accompanied by parallel loans of $50 million from Proparco (Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique S.A.) and $19.4 million from DEG-Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (German Investment and Development Corporation) it explained.
“Jordan enjoys outstanding wind and solar resources, which provide the opportunity for the country to reduce its energy costs and hydrocarbon dependence without burdening the government’s balance sheet” the EBRD stressed, adding that “Jordan is leading the Middle East in mobilising private capital to deliver renewable energy.”
Since 2012, nine solar and one wind farm project have been built by the private sector and are generating electricity, reducing the country’s energy imports and its hydrocarbon dependence, it said.
“The successful implementation of Jordan’s renewable energy programme delivers tremendous benefits to the country’s macroeconomic, social and environmental landscape” commented Daniel Calderon, CEO and co-founder of Alcazar Energy.
“Our objective is to build a long-term sustainable portfolio of renewable energy projects in the country while bringing positive change to the communities in which we operate.”
“Jordan is facing a serious challenge to meet the growing demand for electricity in a sustainable and affordable manner” said Nandita Parshad, EBRD director for Power and Energy, adding that the EBRD was looking to increase its commitment in Jordan's energy sector in the future.
The EBRD has been supporting Jordan’s renewable energy programme since 2012, including financing solar photovoltaic power plants totalling 60 MW to date, it said, adding that in the context of the EBRD’s focus on Green Economy Transition since late 2015, the EBRD expects to more than triple the volume of renewable energy financed in Jordan in the near future.
Green Watts Renewable Energy is a Jordan-based company, wholly owned by Alcazar Energy Partners, a Dubai-based renewable energy company.