'Two new Tafileh wind plants to be ready by 2019'

AMMAN — Two wind power plants with a total capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) will be ready and connected to the grid by 2019, according to one of the companies involved in the project.

The first $110 million 50MW wind plant, which will be located in Tafileh, some 180km southwest of Amman, will be implemented by the Korea Southern Power Company Ltd. and Daelim Energy Company Ltd.

“We will borrow from the International Finance Corporation and the Islamic Development Bank to implement the project,” Cheol Kim, senior manager of the renewable development team at Daelim Energy Company, told The Jordan Times after the signing of the power purchase agreement with the government on Thursday.

“We chose to invest in Jordan due to its strategic location, and the wind speed in [the Kingdom is] very suitable for wind plants… Korean companies have invested a lot in the energy sector in Jordan,” Kim said, adding that construction on the plant is scheduled to start in 2017 and be completed by 2019.

Under another agreement signed Thursday, Abour Energy, a unit owned by Saudi Arabia’s Xenel Industries, will build another 50MW wind power plant in Tafileh.

The wind plant will cost more than $100 million, and it will be financed through loans from the Islamic Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation, Fereydoon Abtahi, general manager of Abour Energy, told The Jordan Times in an interview on the sidelines of the deal's signing.

“We will begin construction in 2017, and it will be completed by 2019,” Abtahi said.

Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif stressed the importance of the agreements, which fall in line with the country’s strategy to increase reliance on renewable energy resources.

South Korean Ambassador to Jordan Choi Hong-ghi said South Korea has invested significantly in the energy sector in Jordan.

“We are hoping for more cooperation with Jordan in various areas, especially in the energy sector,” said the ambassador.

Renewable energy projects in Jordan contribute 3-4 per cent to the national electricity grid, and the figure is scheduled to reach 10 per cent by 2020.

Jordan is expected to have solar and wind projects of a total capacity of 1,600MW.

Wind speeds in the Kingdom can be as high as 7.5 metres to 11.5 metres per second in hilly areas.