Solar energy lights 500 mosques in Jordan

ArabiaWeather.com- About 500 mosques in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan have resorted to supplying their electricity needs by investing in solar energy, as 400 mosques have actually been provided with energy systems that operate by solar cells, while work is underway to convert 100 other mosques to work with the same system.

Al-Qawasmi Mosque in the Sports City provides a model for these mosques, which managed to reduce the monthly electric energy bill from 1,200 dinars to about 100 dinars. This is done by relying on solar energy as a source of electricity production to light and heat the 2,500-square-meter mosque, which can accommodate 4,000 worshipers.

The mosque will be able to recover the cost of the project it implemented for this purpose, amounting to 45,000 dinars within 4 years.

And the Minister of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, Dr. Hayel Daoud, stated that the cost of alternative energy projects in mosques, which generate 5,000 kilowatts, has so far reached about 5 million dinars.

He explained that it saves 1.5 million dinars from the total electricity bill in mosques, which amounts to about 7.5 million dinars annually, of which the government provides about 3.5 million.

Al-Daoud added that the ministry opted for alternative energy as a solution. To reduce the burden of the energy bill, the Council of Ministers responded to it by forming an energy committee that includes the Ministries of Awqaf and Energy and the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Authority, which was entrusted with the task of setting technical specifications and terms of reference for the installation of solar cell systems for mosques.