Acwa Power has announced that the 61.3 MW-capacity Risha solar photovoltaic independent power plant (IPP) project in Jordan reached financial close on 20 December.

This development comes after the Saudi company announced the execution of financing agreements in late November. The financing comprises senior loans of $22m from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and $16m each from Deutsche Investitions- Und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Mbh (DEG) and Arab Bank to Risha for Solar Power Projects.

The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and the Transmission Connection Agreement (TCA) for the project were signed with Jordan’s state-owned National Electric Power Company (Nepco), while the Government Guarantee Agreement (GGA) was signed with the Ministry of Finance, simultaneously in March 2017.

The project, developed by ACWA Power and procured by Nepco on a bilateral basis, will deliver the lowest tariff (0.042 JD/kWh equal to approximately $0.059/kWh) across all renewable energy projects in Jordan including the Round I and II of the Photovoltaic Procurement programme of the kingdom’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The plant is to be connected at the site with a modified substation, which is already connecting the existing CEGCO plant, resulting in a tariff that is over 3 per cent lower than the previous lowest tariff provided to Jordan with the Mafraq PV IPP project, which was also developed by Acwa Power.

The 61.3 MW plant located in Risha area of Mafraq Governorate has the capacity to power about 12,000 households every year. The project will also result in roughly 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ saved over 20 years, equivalent to 79,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.