Wind Energy

Wind power in Jordan: 16 firms in running to build Fujeij wind farm

French energy giant GDF Suez, South Korean Daewoo International, and UAE-based AES are among 16 firms currently being vetted to construct the Fujeij wind turbines plant, a 90-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Fujeij, near Shobak, some 200 kilometres south of the capital.

Offers for the Fujeij plant are to be submitted by December 19, with the winning bid to be announced in February 2011, energy officials told The Jordan Times previously. Meanwhile, the ministry is one step closer to selecting consultants to guide the Kingdom’s renewable energy programme.

Earlier this month, the ministry pre-qualified two firms to provide consultancy services for integrating wind farms into the national electricity grid: Dutch firm Kema International BV and Italian consultant CESI SpA.

Grid integration is seen as the main challenge to the success of Fujeij and a 40MW wind farm in Kamsheh, both of which are slated to be online within one year of awarding the tender.

Two international firms have also been tapped to guide the ministry and the Electrical Regulatory Commission (ERC) in price estimates for renewable energy projects and products, namely Spanish Consultant International Technical Assistance Consultants and Kema International BV.

The ministry has also shortlisted three firms to advise the ministry and the ERC on regulatory and institutional frameworks for supporting renewable energy projects: US firm Nexant, Ibrahim Bakr Law Office and a British consortium comprising CMS Cameron McKenna and Ernst and Young.

The selected consultants’ work will be funded with part of the $6 million Jordan received from the World Bank-funded Global Environment Facility, energy officials told The Jordan Times previously.

The national energy strategy calls for renewable energy to account for 7 per cent of the Kingdom’s energy mix within the next five years, and 10 per cent by the end of the decade. Energy officials are planning various projects to produce 1,000 MW of wind power and 600 MW of solar energy to meet the strategic target.

By Taylor Luck, Jordan Times, www.jordantimes.com/