Baynouna Solar Energy Company (BSCE), a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar and Finnish investment and asset management group Taaleri, has announced the opening of its new 200MW solar park in Amman.

 

The largest clean energy project in Jordan - Baynouna Solar Park - produces over 560 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy annually – enough to power 160,000 homes. 

 

Developed through a power purchase agreement between Masdar and National Electric Power Company, Jordan’s state electricity provider, the Baynouna Solar Park also displaces 360,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, equivalent to taking nearly 80,000 cars off the road.

 

The inauguration was held in the presence of Bisher Al-Khasawneh, Prime Minister of Jordan, and was attended by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President-Designate, and Chairman of Masdar; Dr Saleh Al Kharabsheh, Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources; and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador to Jordan. 

 

The ceremony was also attended by other high-level officials from the government of Jordan and senior executives from Masdar.

 

Al Jaber said: "In partnership with the Jordanian government, the Baynouna Solar Park will contribute to Jordan’s climate targets, provide access to clean energy, create jobs and ensure economic growth. Along with our other project here – the Tafila Wind Farm – Masdar is already helping Jordan to produce 29 percent of its electricity from renewable sources and will support its goal of increasing that to 50 percent by the end of the decade."

 

"Ambitious, transformative partnerships like these are precisely what we need if we are to deliver on the promise of the Paris Agreement and continue to ensure that we are holding back emissions, not progress. COP28 will focus on moving from goals to implementation, with a clear focus on demonstrable action on mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and finance, as we aim to keep the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees alive," he added.

 

Al Kharabsheh said: "We are focused on developing local energy sources to achieve energy security, enhance self-reliance and limit the effects of climate change. If we look at the world today, we see that renewable energy, especially solar and wind energy, are the fastest growing and widespread renewable energy sources and the time has come to maximize the benefits of renewables."

 

Al Ramahi expressed delight at witnessing the inauguration of this project, which is one of the fruits of Masdar’s long collaborative partnership with Jordan. 

 

"We stand ready to support Jordan in its energy transition and will look to increase our presence in the Kingdom through the development of further clean energy projects that will drive economic growth for the nation," he added.

 

Financial institutions that supported the Baynouna project include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID), the KfW Group’s DEG, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

 

Taaleri Group CEO Peter Ramsay said: "We are very excited to be inaugurating the largest solar park in Jordan. This impressive project is a testament to the strength of cooperation between Masdar and Taaleri, two pioneers who have been active in the renewable energy field for a long time. We are proud to advance our common global climate change mitigation goals together with our partners and investors."

 

Masdar also operates the 117 MW Tafila Wind Farm, which was completed in 2015 – the first commercial utility-scale wind project in the Middle East.-TradeArabia News Service