Ammon News - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh said Tuesday that the policy of diversifying natural gas sources and long-term supply agreements saved the treasury about $1.2 billion in the first nine months of the year.

He said in a lecture at the National Defense College on the energy strategy for the years 2020/2030 that the ministry's policy shielded the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) from rising global liquified natural gas prices.

On the ministry’s role in promoting local energy sources in the total energy mix, Kharabsheh said Jordan is a leading regional country in the development of renewable energy, and currently produces about 29 percent of the electricity generated in the country from renewable energy sources and seeks to raise that figure to 50 percent by 2030.

He explained that the total installed capacity of electric power generation projects from renewable energy sources amounted to about 2,526 megawatt at the end of July, accounting for 29 percent of the electricity generated since the start of 2022, compared to about 26 percent in 2021.

Energy generated from the total installed capacity of renewable energy projects amounted to about 5.5 TWh at the end of 2021, placing Jordan first in the Arab world in the ratio of the installed capacity of renewable energy sources without calculating hydropower, and third after Egypt and Morocco in the amount of energy produced, he said.

He said the ministry endeavors to increase this share to 50 percent by 2030 and see Jordan as a regional green energy hub through utilizing abundant renewable energy sources.