Techno-Economic Viability Test of Renewable Energy Supply Options in Developing Countries: Jordan Case Study

Abstract

Jordan electricity demand is rapidly increasing and is expected to increase three times by 2030. Currently, deployment of renewable energy resource, especially solar and the wind is one of the considerable challenges of the government of Jordan. This research aims to investigate the status and prospect of renewable energy resource in Jordan. And, to test the potential renewable energy supply options in Jordan. A method for comparing the most viable energy supply options have been proposed and then applied into a technoeconomic feasibility case study to assess the viability of wind and solar energy resource in a particular area in the south of Jordan. HOMER software has been used to simulate and configure the system. The result showed that installing a PV solar farm has many advantages than installing a wind farm. The main benefits for the PV system are that it needs a lower installed capacity than wind system to meet the same load demand. Wind farm choice is less viable economically when it compared to the PV system; it needs higher capital and replacement cost. Also, the operating and maintenance cost of the wind farm much higher than that for the solar farm, (roughly up to ten times).