The World Bank’s MENA CSP KIP welcomed five Jordanian officials to Spain for a study tour in November. The guests included Jordanian officials from the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) and the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC).

 

Figure 1. Jordanian officials in Solúcar Solar Complex

Amani Al-Azzam, Eng. Abdel Fattah Al-Daradkeh, Eng. Wijdan Al-Rabadi, Belén Gallego, Eng. Amani Hamdan, Emad Abu Lehyeh and Stratos Tavoulareas

 

The aim of the study tour was to share the knowledge and expertise developed in Spanish CSP Plants with the Jordanian officials to help them to expand their knowledge of CSP and implement CSP technologies in their home country. To do this, the agenda included site visits to the following:

  • Plataforma Solar de Almería: Located in the Tabernas desert, PSA is the largest research, development and testing center dedicated to concentrating solar technology in Europe.
  • CSP Seville 2017 Conference: Jordanian officials had the chance to hear from and network with leading industry companies such as ACWA Power, Rioglass, Abengoa, Engie, Aalborg, SENER, Masdar, and CIEMAT among many others.
  • Solúcar Solar Complex: This complex includes projects in commercial operation, pilot projects, and R&D+i laboratories and has 183 MW in commercial operation.
  • Gemasolar: The first commercial-scale plant in the world to apply central tower receiver and molten salt heat storage technology which permits independent electrical generation for up to 15 hours without any solar feed.
  • La Africana: This 50 MW parabolic trough CSP plant was commissioned in 2012 and is today the best performing CSP plant in Spain. It has 7.5 hours of storage at full turbine capacity, which allows for 24-hour non-stop operation through the summer months.
  • Red Eléctrica de España (REE) Control Centre of Renewable Energies (CECRE): Red Eléctrica is the sole transmission agent and operator (TSO) of the Spanish electricity system. The CECRE is contributing to the fact that in recent years more than 40% of the annual electricity demand is covered by renewable generation.
  • Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda (MINETAD): One of the 13 ministries of the Spanish government, currently led by Álvaro Nadal.

 

Figure 2. Jordanian officials touring the facilities

 

Through the site visits, the members of the Jordanian delegation were able to see Spain’s CSP technology up close and talk to the industry and technical experts behind it.