Current status and future investment potential in renewable energy in Jordan: An overview

Abstract

Jordan imports 94% of its oil and gas (fossil fuels) to meet its energy needs, leaving it vulnerable to variations in fuel price. Jordan's demand for energy is growing at a rate of 3% annually. In response, the government set a target of obtaining 10% of its energy needs from renewable energy resources by increasing electricity generation share from the present 1.13 GW-1.8 GW by 2020. The sources of generation include abundant solar, wind, and biomass resources, which also enhance economic growth and reduce pollution. This article analyzed the current energy situation in Jordan and assessed the available renewable energy resources potential for direct investments. The actual contribution of clean energy is still moderate at roughly 7% of total energy demand, despite the efforts placed on the development of alternative energy resources. The national electricity supply and demand are presented, and the government initiatives, financial incentives, and tax exemptions to encourage investments in clean energy are also discussed. The renewable energy policy generates future opportunities for investors with an ambitious $20 billion energy plans as does its strategy to improve energy efficiency. This article will benefit interested clean energy investors and developers and plans for 2,000 MW investments in wind and solar energy are ready for bidders. Such an endeavor and model will also benefit neighboring countries in the region.

Sustainable Environmental Management and Valorization Options for Olive Mill Byproducts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region

“…The olive pomace calorific value largely exceeds that of other wood or agricultural biomass and releases considerable energy during its utilization. The olive pomace with heat energy of 23 MJ/kg [67][68][69] is considered a valuable resource of renewable energy and has become an alternative to natural gas and liquid fossil fuels normally used in house heating [70]. Many olive mills pressed the dried pomace to form blocks or briquettes and sell them to local communities as a fuel for home heating.…”

Establishing Regional Power Sustainability and Feasibility Using Wind Farm Land-Use Optimization

“…Jordan is no exception, where it has one of the most imported fossil fuel-dependent countries in the world in 2017 [58]. Eighty-nine to ninety-three percent of the country's energy needs are met by oil and natural gas imports [59,60]. The remainder (7-11%) is supplied by renewable energy [59].…”

Analysis of Cost-Optimal Renewable Energy Expansion for the Near-Term Jordanian Electricity System

“…More recent, figures show that 19% of the installed capacity is covered by renewable energy power plants with 10.7% of the electricity generation of 2018 being covered by renewable energy sources [7]. Within the National Energy Masterplan for 2007-2020 [10] a reduction of energy dependency from 82% to 40% in 2020 was envisioned, which was not achieved, as Jordan is still importing 94% of its oil and gas to meet energy needs [11]. In 2018, 15% of the total electrical power consumption was used for water pumping, 45% in the residential sector, 22% in the industrial sector, 15% for commercial purposes and 2% for street lighting [12].…”

“…Analogously to Equations (5) and (6), the energy storage level and its maximum investment level are bounded as shown in Equations (10) and (11). For all conventional units c ∈ C, upper and lower limits for the total energy supply over the time horizon T can be bounded with Equations (12) and (13).…”