Masdar-led joint venture completes financing for Jordan’s largest solar

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, announced at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week that the financing of the largest solar power plant in Jordan has been completed.

The financing of the 200 megawatt-capacity, Baynouna Solar Energy Project, to be built 10 kilometres outside of the capital Amman, was formalised at a signing ceremony between Baynouna Solar Energy Company, BSEC, a joint-venture between Masdar and Taaleri, and the International Finance Corporation, IFC.

Witnessing the signing ceremony were Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar; Khaled Al Qubaisi, Chief Executive Officer, Aerospace, Renewables and Information Communications Technology, Mubadala Investment Company; Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar; and Juhani Elomaa, CEO of Taaleri.

The agreement was signed by Niall Hannigan, Chairman of Baynouna Solar Energy PSC; Erik Becker, Manager of Infrastructure, MENA, IFC; Abdul-Fatah Al-Daradkeh, General Manager, National Electric Power Company, NEPCO; and Turan Caglayan, Senior Director, Corporate & Funds for Asia and Europe, DEG.

"We are glad to have Masdar developing its second renewable energy project in Jordan, our largest solar energy farm. The Baynouna project is helping to deliver on His Majesty King Abdullah II’s vision for a diversified energy mix and progressing the national agenda for energy security and sustainability, and is a result of the co-operation agreements signed between the Jordanian government and the Abu Dhabi government represented by Masdar," said Dr. Saleh Kharabsheh, Jordan’s Minister of Energy.

BSEC is the Masdar-led special project vehicle, developing Jordan’s largest solar PV plant on behalf of the state utility, National Electric Power Company. The Finnish investment company, Taaleri Group, announced last week that it has taken a 30 percent stake in BSEC.

Project financing was managed by IFC. It invested part of its own capital while securing funds from Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Dutch Development Bank. FMO, Europe Arab Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID, and German Development Bank, DEG.

In December 2017, the EPC contract for the wind farm was awarded to a consortium led by UAE-based Enviromena Power Systems and Saudi-based Arabian BEMCO Contracting Co.

To be completed in the second quarter of 2020, the Baynouna solar energy project will supply approximately 110,000 homes while displacing an estimated 360,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of taking nearly 80,000 cars off the roads.

Generating 563.3 gigawatt hours, GWh, of electricity per year, the project is expected to meet three percent of Jordan’s annual power consumption. It will also reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, which currently supply 96 percent of the country’s energy needs.

"Together, we have reached an important milestone with the financial close and are ready to begin construction of the largest solar power plant in Jordan. With backing now secured from lenders in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, the global interest in commercial renewable energy in Jordan is clear. This development reflects the visionary leadership of the Jordanian government in creating the optimal environment to realise world-class renewable energy projects, attracting foreign capital," stated Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar.

Baynouna is Masdar’s second major renewable energy project in Jordan after the 11-MW Tafila wind farm was inaugurated in December 2015. Baynouna and Tafila combined will contribute around a fifth - 18 percent - of the 1.8 gigawatts of renewable-energy capacity that Jordan plans to install by 2020. The kingdom hopes to source 15 percent of its electricity from renewables by then.