ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, on Thursday announced the launch of a project to review and assess Jordan 2020-2030 Energy Strategy to integrate developments, in a way that "positively" increases contribution of renewable energy and local sources in electric power generation.

In a press statement, he said this step comes from the ministry's keenness to implement the Royal directives to achieve sustainable development goals and keep pace with all developments on various fields to maintain security of sustainable energy supply.

Reviewing the energy strategy is also in line with the Cabinet's decision at the end of October 2021 to endorse the document of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), which is a climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts, he pointed out.

This document, he noted, contains a "large" part of the energy sector projects, which will contribute "significantly" to reducing the declared emissions rate that has doubled to 31%.

Regarding the global developments to be taken into account, Kharabsheh noted the world's current trend focuses on hydrogen, adding that any plans to make Jordan a pioneer in this field will mean integrating this issue within the strategy' modernization process.

In addition, the minister stressed the importance of revisiting the strategy to upgrade Jordan's electrical grid and carry out the necessary expansions on the electric power network, which would reflect on better absorption of more renewable energy, adding that its current contribution to Jordan's electrical power generation has reached 25%.

This process, he noted, will take into account the shift towards smart power grids, implementation of electrical energy storage projects and completion of other enterprises currently being carried out, in addition to finishing introduction of the time-related electrical tariff.


The minister also said renewable energy will have a "major" role that shows integration of energy, water and agriculture sectors within the National Carrier Project, aimed to desalinate the Red Sea water with quantities ranging between 250 and 300 million cubic meters.