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Jordan seeks to promote the contribution of renewable energies up to 10% of the total energy cost
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THIS ARTICLE
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Date Published:
4 February 2010
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Published in:
Al-Rai
Jordan
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Original Language:
Arabic
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 View Original
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Engineer Khaled El Irany, Minister of Energy and Mining declared that Jordan is giving special attention to renewable energies, to raising their efficiency and their contribution to the total energy mix to reach up to 7% in the year 2015 and up to 10% in 2020.
According to an official statistic, Jordan has consumed 7,4 million tons last year equal to oil, this included oil, natural gas, electricity and renewable energy. Their cost amounted to 2,8 billion Dinar.
El Irany added at the inauguration of the RCREEE conference (RCREEE: the Regional Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency) held in Amman yesterday, Thursday, -and attended by 150 experts from ten Arab countries and from a number of European countries- that Jordan seeks to fulfill this goal through implementing several electricity generating projects, using wind and solar energy. To this, there will be an expansion in the use and applications of solar heaters.
During the inauguration celebration organized by RCREEE, El Irany said that Jordan has finally issued a law for renewable energies and energy efficiency to provide the legal, regulatory and legislative frameworks necessary for establishing a fund for renewable energies and energy efficiency. The fund is to support projects of renewable energies and providing them with soft loans.
El Irany pointed out that communities are facing challenges in terms of an increasing shortage of energy, a rising dependency on depleted energy resources and an increase of search and exploitation costs thereof. He reiterated the importance of developing sources of renewable energies, developing their technologies, raising the energy efficiency and normalizing their use as being among the basic components of tackling the concerns of "energy safety" since their different entangled cycles are difficult to disengage due to the interdependence between the countries.
He praised the efforts of RCREEE for its role in mobilizing the adequate technological and financial efforts for supporting renewable energies and energy efficiency in the participating countries. During the inauguration ceremony, Eng. Samir Hassan, the technical manager of RCREEE, presented the Center's achievements and its role in implementing the work axes, especially in the field of policies, scientific research, attracting the private sector to invest in the sector, in addition to capacity building of the local human resources of the participating countries. The representative of RCREEE's regional partners, Kilian Baelz, said that the Center forms the base for discussions over renewable energies and energy efficiency, and solar energy initiatives, especially in the desert areas. He wished the participants a fruitful conference.
The participants discussed the results of a specialized study on the evaluation of the economic, technical and environmental impacts of the laws and incentives provided for renewable energies and energy efficiency in the RCREEE member countries. Discussed further were the major initiatives for upgrading the sector of renewable energies and energy efficiency and green electricity through the DESERTEC Initiative.
Participating in the conference were experts from Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, America, Niger, Rumania and the EU (European Union).
Jordan had taken over the presidency of the RCREEE Board of Trustees during a meeting held in Amman the day before yesterday.
The Minister of Energy and Mining reiterated in a press release to the Jordanian Press Agency (Patra) the importance of Jordan taking over the presidency of RCREEE. He said that Jordan will focus its efforts on renewable energies and will make use of such to consolidate its energy capacities and to promote their contribution to the total energy mix.
He added that Jordan will seek during its RCREEE presidency period to expand the Arab participation in the Center.
It is to note that RCREEE, the Regional Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency, has its headquarters in Cairo. The Center develops and disseminates the policies supporting the renewable energies and energy efficiency and represents a platform for the exchange of opinions on the regional level pertaining to political and technological issues. In addition, the Center is working at involving the private sector in consolidating the regional industrial development of renewable energies and energy efficiency.
Up to the year 2012, RCREEE is being financed by Germany, the EU and Denmark. It is a funding that amounts to 15 million Euros. There are ten member countries Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen.
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