Renewable Energy
Dr. Bader Eddin Al-Majali
Green Economy
Social Responsibility
Environmental Equity
and Economic Prosperity
Introduction
Arab region enjoys a rich endowment of
renewable energy resources, particularly solar
and wind energies. In fact, the region’s
conditions are so favorable to electricity
production that “a transition to a renewablebased power system is economically more
feasible and more attractive than in most other
regions of the world”
Market Structure
Opening the electricity market to private power
generation is one of the key pre-conditions for
enabling private investments in renewable
energy. Although power sector reforms have
been initiated in almost all countries, the overall
electricity market in the region still remains
state-dominated with little participation from
the private sector.
Policy Framework
Almost all Arab countries have shown
commitment to renewable energy by adopting
long-term technology-specific targets.
However, efforts and progress of these countries
in meeting their targets vary greatly. Currently
there are more than 15 large-scale projects
under construction with total capacity exceeding
1,550 MW, which is more than double the
current installed capacity in the region.
Institutional Capacity
Institutional Capacity measures the ability of states
to design and formulate renewable energy policies,
and most importantly to provide institutional
support for deployment of renewable energy
projects.
More than half the countries in the region have
established dedicated agencies to support
renewable energy. However, the resources and
capacity of these agencies vary greatly.
Independent regulators are still rare in the region.
Institutional Capacity
Well-functioning independent regulators are
important for ensuring stable, reliable and
transparent management of the power sector.
Countries should follow international best
practices in establishing independent regulators.
Those countries that have established
independent regulators and designated agencies
for renewables have taken an important step
towards building a strong institutional base.
Finance and Investment
The region overall performs poorly in the
Finance and Investment category, especially in
the field of private investment in renewable
energy.
Although seven countries have identified over
5,000 MW of new generation for private
development, to this day among the 13
countries, only Morocco has been able to attract
private investment in renewables.
Solar Radiation in the Arab region
Jordan results according to RECEEE
Average
Country
RCREEE – Regional Center for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency
Facts about Jordan
• Jordan ranks second after Morocco in sustainable
energy competitiveness in the Arab region.
• It is one of the few countries in the region that has
provided a statutory guarantee of access for
renewable energy to the grid.
Facts about Jordan
• Jordan has made substantial progress in the past
years by adopting a quite progressive supporting
policy framework for renewable energy: it introduced
the Law on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency,
feed-in tariffs, preferential purchase prices for net
metering, provided a direct proposal submission
option and exempted renewables from customs duty
and sales tax.
What is Next
• Jordan should now concentrate efforts on ensuring
the functionality of these support mechanisms in
order to maintain confidence amongst participants.
• Having created favorable conditions for investment,
it should now also concentrate on strengthening
institutional support to better facilitate deployment
of renewable energy projects.
• This requires establishing a dedicated agency to
promote renewable energy with sufficient resources
and competent staff.
Jordan Indicators
Jordan Indicators
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