Desert Technologies to plug in 23-MWp PV park in Jordan by end-May

Saudi Arabian firm Al Jeel Al Hader Trading Co, doing business as Desert Technologies, expects to complete a 23.1-MWp photovoltaic (PV) plant in the southern parts of Jordan by the end of May 2016, a company official told SeeNews Renewables.

Power generation at the site is to hopefully kick off immediately after that, according to CTO Dr Nabih Cherradi. “This project is the first one with a network of over 1.5 GW in the Middle East and North Africa, from Morocco to Saudi Arabia,” CEO Nour Mousa adds.

The company and its partner on the project -- Italian sector player Enerray SpA -- calculate the total cost of the project at USD 50.2 million (EUR 44.1m), with the funding being arranged by the World Bank’s International Finance Corp (IFC). The solar arm of SECI Energia, part of the Maccaferri Group, and Desert Technologies are the turnkey developers, as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) contractors for the facility.

The Falcon solar farm is located in the Ma'an Development Area. As one of the 12 approved PV projects by the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources under the first round of its direct PV project proposal process, the Falcon solar park has a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the National Electrical Power Transmission Co (NEPCO). Jordan’s Ministry of Finance has issued a sovereign guarantee in support of the PPA, giving it an additional tariff of JOD 0.12 (USD 0.17/EUR 0.15 ) per kWh.

The Falcon facility will use 73,320 of Chinese firm JinkoSolar Holding’s (NYSE:JKS) optimal premium series Eagle polycrystalline silicon modules along with 12 pieces of MV Power Station 1800 SC and 24 outdoor SMA Sunny Central CP 900 XT compact inverters made by Germany’s SMA Solar Technology AG (ETR:S92). The PV plant is estimated to be able to generate about 147 GWh of electricity per year, enough to offset 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.879)

(JOD 1.0 = USD 1.409/EUR 1.238)

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