Yellow Door Energy, the Dubai-based solar company, will build a 4.7-megawatt solar power plant that will provide electricity for Jordan Hospital in Amman.
The solar plant will supply power for the 300-bed medical facility, expected to be complete this year, helping Jordan with its target to generate 1,000MW of solar energy by 2020.
“In addition to helping reduce operating costs, the project will enable the hospital to serve as a successful model for promoting renewable energy projects in Jordan and abroad,” said Jeremy Crane, chief executive of Yellow Door.
Jordan has historically relied on imports to meet around 97 per cent of the country’s energy needs, costing nearly 18 per cent of its GDP, according to the country’s energy ministry.
The need to diversify its power mix has increased over the past few years as Jordan’s state-owned utility has suffered from financial losses from fuel imports and electricity subsidies.
“As part of the hospital’s energy diversification strategy, we’re looking at meeting our electricity needs through power generated by natural resources [while] reducing carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ahmad Khattab, managing director of Jordan Hospital.
Like Dubai, Jordan allows solar to be deployed under a net metering system. Customers can use renewable energy applications to generate power with any left over fed back into the grid. Customers receive a credit on their next bill if any excess electricity is produced.
Jordan’s solar programme has been so popular that it increased its target to 1,000MW from 600MW last year.
lgraves@thenational.ae
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