AMMAN— Economist and energy specialist Amer
Showbaki said that the price of producing
renewable energy decreased globally,
with the lowest price reaching $0.01 per kilowatt of electricity generated from
solar energy in the US, and that is much less than the cost announced by the
lower House Energy and Minerals Committee.
اضافة اعلان
“The current global price for generating
1 kilowatt of electricity from renewable sources of energy is lower than that
of any other source on earth,” Showbaki told
Jordan News, stressing that
the south of Jordan is the perfect spot for producing electricity from
renewable sources, given the number of sunshine days throughout the year and
the moderate weather, which is vital to an efficient generation of renewable
energy.
Showbaki also pointed out that Jordan
signed long-term contacts, some of which more than 20 to 25 years old, to
produce renewable
(solar) energy, adding that “these contracts increased the
cost of producing 1 kilowatt of electricity, which might range from JD0.12 to
JD0.14”.
The last offer to the
government for
producing renewable energy was in 2019; it came to JD0.17 per one kilowatt of
electricity sold, yet the government refused it since it had a surplus of
electricity capacity back then, Showbaki said.
Rejecting the 2019 offer had negative
consequences, including losing the opportunity of having cost-lowering projects
for generating electricity from renewable sources, said Showbaki, adding that
many factories and economic establishments were in need of private solar energy
projects but the government did not approve them.
Instead of addressing an issue by
committing a mistake, Showbaki said, “the government should have reviewed the
long-term contracts which come with high production costs per kilowatt, and use
as little fossil fuel as possible, which would have been better solutions than
rejecting low-priced renewable energy projects”.
Energy expert Hashem Aqel told
Jordan
News that the launch of any technology implies a high investment cost. When
talk about renewable energy started in Jordan, in 2010–2011, the investment
cost was estimated at $1 million, but today it does not exceed $200,000.
Aqel stressed that the real problem lies
in the government’s signing of long-term agreements without requesting
periodical review, while the terms of these agreements should be modified as
per the new prices. Due to the limitations imposed by the long-term agreements,
the government is bound to pay the old agreed-upon price, he said.
The “legal weakness”
of those contracts is the main reason for the rise in electricity bills
produced by both conventional and alternative ways, he said, adding that the
only solution to this issue is to review the agreements for
generating electricity and noting that a kilowatt costs the government around JD0.10.
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