Jordan Selects Finalists to Bid for Renewables

Jordan selected 45 companies, including France’s Total SA and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, as finalists to bid for six solar and wind energy power plants with a total capacity of 300 megawatts. "The 31 companies selected for the four solar power plants include Linuo Group, FRV Solar Holdings, ACWA Power, Chint Solar, Total Solar and TBEA Xinjiang Sunoasis," Jordan's Minister of Energy Saleh Kharabsheh said in a phone interview, Bloomberg reported. The plants would each have a capacity of 50 megawatts, he said. The 14 companies for the two wind plants include Alcazar Energy, SamGreenPower, ACWA Power, Eesti Energia, Korea Southern Power and EMA Power Investment, the minister said. The current use of renewable energy sources in Jordan is marginal, accounting for less than 2% of electricity generation. In 2012, of the 16.5 MW generated by renewable energy resources, 60.4% were hydropower, 21.1% biomass, 9.7% photovoltaic and 8.8% wind.