The Kingdom of Jordan has adopted a system of feed-in tariffs for renewable energy generation including solar photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP).
The prices are described as a "ceiling tariff", with PV set at USD 0.163/kWh and CSP at USD 0.183/kWh. The tariffs do not include different tranches for size, and the nation’s Electricity Regulatory Commission can end the program when the total installed capacity of renewables reaches 500 MW.
"Very few details of the new policy are available in English," notes Gipe. "What is known is that the policy is a radical reversal of the previous direction in Jordanian energy policy and follows a festering dispute about the role of nuclear power."
An additional 15% will be added for renewable energy facilities of "fully Jordanian origin". Tariffs are also set for wind power, biomass and biogas.
Jordanian policy moves from nuclear to renewables
Jordan’s Electricity Regulatory Commission has introduced the tariffs, following the passage of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Law passed in April 2012, which requires Kingdom Electricity Company (Amman, Jordan) to buy power from renewable energy generators.
Gipe notes that as recently as 2009 Jordan planned to build as many as five nuclear power plants, but that the nation’s parliament has rejected those plans, as well as canceling a contract with Areva to mine uranium.
He also observes that the nation subsidizes more than half of the cost of retail electricity, and is dependent upon natural gas imports from Egypt, which have recently been sabotaged.
