| 25 Jun 2010 |
|
Wind power plant project back on track
- Text size
AMMAN - The Kingdom's first wind power plant project is back on track after nearly a year's delay, according to the Ministry of Energy.
The government has reopened negotiations with the original bidder, the Greek firm Terna Energy SA, for the construction of a 30-40 megawatt wind power plant in Kamshah, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khalid Irani said.
"We have reopened negotiations with the original bidder," Irani told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of a conference on Monday.
Proposals for the plant, which would be the country's first commercial wind power project, have been rejected twice over the price of electricity tariffs quoted by the Greek firm, according to the ministry.
Last year, the tender for the small-scale wind turbine farm garnered the interest of two international companies, a Russian firm and Terna, with whom the government entered negotiations. The main obstacles to concluding the agreement were the high tariffs and prices quoted for electricity included in the proposal, ministry officials had told The Jordan Times. Officials have indicated that the prices were based on high oil prices due to the economic situation when the proposal was crafted in late 2008.
The plant, which is to be constructed on a build-operate-transfer basis with financing provided by the World Bank, was scheduled to be operational this year as the Kingdom's first wind power plant.
Known for its affordability and relatively quick construction period, authorities have prioritised wind power as a key part of the Kingdom's strategy for greater energy independence, expected to account for 1,600 megawatts by the year 2020.
The Renewable Energy Law allows the ministry to negotiate with companies directly, and requires proposals for projects to state fixed electricity tariffs.
Authorities are currently considering an incentive system to promote investment in the field, including feed-in tariffs, which fund the gap between the price of electricity produced by renewable energy and electricity produced by conventional methods.
As of 2009, 63 feed-in tariff laws have been enacted around the world.
© Jordan Times 2010
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Loading ...
Post a Comment
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.