Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power has signed a contract with Jordan’s Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources to develop a 61.3MW photovoltaic (PV) solar plant.

The contracts were signed by Acwa Power’s chairman Mohammad Abunayyan and Jordan’s Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi on 16 January.

The agreed tariff of JD42 fils per kilowatt hour (kWh) is the lowest tariff for a utility scale solar project in Jordan, breaking the record set for the 50MW Mafraq PV project which is being developed by Acwa Power under the second round of Jordan’s direct proposal renewables programme.

The project is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2019. The PV solar facility will be located in Risha, a province in eastern Jordan. The plant will provide enough power to provide electricity for 12,000 households, according to Acwa Power.

Speaking at the contract signing, Acwa Power’s Abunayyan said that while Acwa would be investing in the construction of the plant, Jordan’s Central Electricity Generating Company would be operating and maintaining the plant. Acwa Power acquired the main stake in Cegco in 2011.

“We are proud to have Cegco playing this role,” said Abunayyan.

MEED reported in March 2016 that Acwa Power had acquired Sunrise Solar Energy, which had been awarded the contract to develop the 50MW Mafraq PV solar IPP just a few weeks earlier. The tariff for the 50MW solar IPP was equal to a tariff of about 6.13$cents/kWh.