AMMAN — Jordan, Israel, and the UAE signed declaration of intent on Monday under which Jordan will provide Israel with solar energy in exchange for desalinated water. According to a press statement issued by the
Ministry of Water and Irrigation, a feasibility study will be conducted next year.
اضافة اعلان
Ministers from the neighboring countries inked the US-brokered deal at an
Expo 2020 Dubai event joined by John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, according to AFP.
The UAE will reportedly finance the construction of the solar farm through a state-owned alternative energy company.
The declaration of intent says the planned photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 600 megawatts will export green power to Israel, which in turn will supply Jordan with up to 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water.
“The Middle East is on the frontline of the climate crisis,” Kerry said in a statement. “Only by working together can countries in the region rise to the scale of the challenge.”
According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, a feasibility study will be conducted next year.
Water Ministry spokesperson Omar Salameh said the deal comes in light of Jordan’s growing need for “permanent” water sources for both drinking, agricultural, and industrial purposes.
Jordanians’ annual water usage per capita stands at approximately one-fifth of the global average of 500 cubic meters.
Lower House members had asked the government earlier on Monday to confirm or deny news that Jordan and Israel were about to sign an energy-for-water deal, but received no answer. Like the Israeli gas deal before, this latest understanding with Israel will likely be criticized by a majority of Jordanians who remain vehemently against any normalization with what they describe as the “Zionist entity”.
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