AMMAN — The
Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) wants
to increase electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country, as part
of its strategic plan for the years2022–2026.
اضافة اعلان
The JD2.5 million plan will be executed, if funding
is made available by the Ministry of Transport, in partnership with the
ministries of environment, energy and mineral resources and the Jordan Electric
Power Company (JEPC).
Hanna Al-Zaghloul, CEO of Kawar Energy, a company
which specializes in renewable energy, told
Jordan News that the planned
expansion of electric charging stations was a “step in the right direction”.
“Countries around the world are already halting the
production of vehicles that run on gas and diesel”, he explained. He praised
the GAM’s plan, saying “I especially appreciated that this plan also targets
the private sector, not just the public sector.”
He said homeowners will be “more tempted to install
renewable energy systems, such as solar-powered systems to use for their
electric vehicles, and the remaining collected power can go for household use.”
The transportation sector is the second most greenhouse emission-producing sector in Jordan
The plan refers to recycling electric cars’
batteries. Zaghloul said: “This is a very important plan of action. Car
batteries aren’t completely depleted when they’re replaced, the healthy battery
cells can be reused for lots of other battery powered items”, he said.
“Also, the materials that the batteries are made of
should be recycled as they aren’t biodegradable, otherwise they’ll have a very
bad impact on the environment,” he pointed out. “A program for recycling should
be developed for batteries, after careful revision of certain places those
recycling plants can operate in.”
In terms of how pollution would be reduced if this
plan receives its funding and gets off the ground, chairman of the Jordan
Environmental Union Omar Al-Shoshan said: “As a matter of principle, this is an
inevitable and necessary move.”
“The transportation sector is the second most
greenhouse emission-producing sector in Jordan,” he explained.
“The government must build proper infrastructure by
allowing investments through the private sector to build electric vehicle
charging stations, using
renewable energy,” he said. “It must also create
incentives for individuals and organizations to switch to electric vehicles to
achieve environmental justice.”
Shoshan said the GAM’s plan “has great potential for
a greener public transportation system in Amman and its suburbs through relying
on renewable energy, when it comes to projects such as the newly implemented
bus rapid transit system”.
“A significant reduction in harmful emissions and pollutions
would be achieved,” he emphasized.
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