Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the local Shams Ma’an Power Generation company to develop a 52.5MW photovoltaic (PV) solar plant in southern Jordan.

The US’ First Solar, part of the Shams Ma’an Power Generation company, will build the PV solar plant and will also provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services once the facility is complete. The electricity generated by the plant will be purchased by Nepco under a 20-year PPA.

The solar power plant will be the country’s largest installed PV solar facility. The plant is expected to produce 160 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity a year with a capacity to power more than 35,000 homes. The renewable energy will save about 90,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. This is equivalent to taking 20,000 cars off the road each year.

The Shams Ma’an Power Generation company, is a special purpose company set up to target solar energy opportunities in Jordan.

Jordan is pushing ahead with a large renewable energy programme as part of its efforts to diversify its power-generation resources. In 2013, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) invited companies to prequalify for the contract to build a 65MW-75MW PV solar power plant in Quweira, southern Jordan.

In early March, Spain’s Atersa Group Elecnor entered into final rounds of negotiation with Jordan’s MEMR to build a 2MW grid-connected solar plant in Azraq, located 110 kilometres east of Amman.