ABB & Masdar Back Jordan Solar Push

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Originally published on Sustainnovate.

By Henry Lindon

The Middle Eastern country of Jordan recently signed new agreements with the Swiss company ABB, a 2014 Zayed Future Energy Prize winner, and the UAE-owned company Masdar that will see a number of large new solar energy projects built in the country, according to announcements made at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

ABB revealed there that it recently signed a substation supply agreement for a 52.5 megawatt (MW) project being developed in Jordan by First Solar, as well as a central inverter supply contract with EPC Martifer Solar for a 50 MW project under development.

The 50 MW project will actually be composed of a number of different photovoltaic (PV) plants — a 20 MW plant and 3 plants 10 MW in size. ABB will be supplying its “Ultra” central inverters for all of these plants. The plants are being built near the cities of Ma’an and Mafraq by the Portuguese company Martifer Solar.

“Of all the MENA countries, Jordan has the clearest legislation for solar PV development,” stated ABB communications manager Jyotsna Ravishankar in a recent interview with PV Magazine. “The country also has first-mover advantage and because it lacks many natural energy resources has had to import energy. Now, there is a clear mandate to focus on solar.”

ABB’s substation contract is with regard to the 52.5 MW Shams Ma’an PV project.

As noted above, Masdar is also in the process of working with Jordan’s Ministry of Energy in order to develop a 200 MW solar PV project in the country. Once completed, the project will represent the largest project of its type in the whole of Jordan. Total investment costs for the project will reportedly be around $200 million.

Image by Naseem Tarawnah (some rights reserved)