EBRD finances wind power plant in Jordan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of US$70 million to Green Watts Renewable Energy LLC, for the construction of the 86 MW  Al Rajef wind farm in the Ma'an governorate of southern Jordan.

The plant is the first wind project developed under round one of Jordan's renewable energy feed-in-tariff program and will increase the country’s installed wind capacity by around 40 per cent. The EBRD has been supporting Jordan’s renewable energy programme since 2012, including financing solar photovoltaic power plants totalling 60 MW to date.  

The total project cost for Al Rajef wind farm amounts to US$ 185 million. The EBRD loan will be accompanied by parallel loans of US$ 50 million from Proparco (Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique S.A.) and US$ 19.4 million from DEG-Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (German Investment and Development Corporation).

The Al Rajef wind farm in Amman, Jordan, involves the installation of 41 Gamesa G114 2.0 MW wind turbine generators and will be constructed under a full scope engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with the turbine supplier.

The project is at an advanced stage of permitting. The power purchase agreement was signed with the state-owned transmission company, NEPCO, in October 2015. The project will connect to the existing NEPCO grid via a newly installed 19 kilometers 132 kV overhead line.

Nandita Parshad, EBRD Director for Power and Energy, said:

“Jordan is facing a serious challenge to meet the growing demand for electricity in a sustainable and affordable manner. We are very proud to step up our commitment by financing this wind power plant and we look forward to getting even more deeply involved in Jordan’s energy sector in the near future.”

Daniel Calderon, CEO and co-founder of Alcazar Energy, said:

“The successful implementation of Jordan’s renewable energy programme delivers tremendous benefits to the country’s macroeconomic, social and environmental landscape. We appreciate the support of the government of Jordan, our investors and lenders who have enabled us to play an active role in this programme. Our objective is to build a long-term sustainable portfolio of renewable energy projects in the country while bringing positive change to the communities in which we operate.”