Operating the first commercial project to generate electricity from wind in Jordan and the Middle East

ArabiaWeather.com - The National Electric Power Company and the Jordan Wind Renewable Energy Project Company announced the completion of connecting the Tafila wind farm project to the public electricity grid, and the start of commercial operation of the project.

Thus, the Jordan Wind Project Company for Renewable Energy becomes the first company to generate renewable energy from wind to start commercial operation in the Kingdom and the region. According to the local Al-Rai newspaper.

The Director General of the National Electric Power Company, Eng. Abdel Fattah Al-Daradkeh, said that the Tafila wind farm has completed the contractual and legal requirements, according to the agreed dates and mechanisms, and has actually started supplying the public grid with energy generated from the wind in a commercial manner, becoming the first of its kind to complete these phases in the Kingdom.

For his part, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jordan Wind Project Company, Samer Joudeh, said that the Tafila wind farm has reached its full production capacity, which amounts to 117 megawatts, and within the announced dates, indicating that it will produce about 400 gigawatts / hour annually.

He added that the station has actually started supplying the public network with energy, according to the agreements signed between the two sides, thus becoming the first electricity generation station through renewable wind energy in the Kingdom and the region.

According to Gouda, the project, which was established in Tafilah Governorate at a cost of $287 million, contributes 3 percent of the total energy produced in the Kingdom.

He pointed out that the Tafila wind farm had previously completed several experimental operations for the project, which comes in compliance with the royal desire to alleviate the burden of Jordan and Jordanians in various fields, especially the energy field. It is in line with the state's aspirations towards clean energy, and embodies the first step to finding effective solutions to the energy problem in Jordan and contributing to meeting its growing needs.

It is noteworthy that the Tafila wind farm project is the first and largest project of its kind in the region, and it is a completely private project that was carried out with international investment and financing.

The Jordan Wind Renewable Energy Project is a consortium that includes the InfraMed Investment Fund, the Emirati company Masdar, and the Cypriot EP Global Energy. The project was co-financed by the International Finance Corporation, the European Investment Bank, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Danish Export Credit Agency, the Netherlands Foundation for Finance and Development, and the Arab European Bank.

The project includes 38 huge turbines with a generating capacity of 3 megawatts for each turbine, and the total height of each of the turbines is about 150 meters, and the weight is approximately 200 tons.