The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that it would be providing a financing package of up to $35 million to Kawar Investments for the development of a  37 MW solar project in Jordan.

The project would supply power to Orang Jordan, enabling the company to meet its electricity needs through clean energy.

 The financing is provided by the EBRD with a loan of up to $15 million, the Jordan Kuwait Bank PSC (JKB) with $9 million, the Arab Jordan Investment Bank (Qatar) LLC (AJUBQ) with $6 million and the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund with $4.6 million.

This project would be EBRD’s first in Jordan within its southern and eastern Mediterranean Private Renewable Energy Framework (SPREF). The SPREF was launched by EBRD in 2015 to support the development and financing of innovative business models to mobilise private finance for renewable energy projects in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region.

 Jordanian company, Kawar Investment, is expected to take on the engineering, procurement, and construction of the three solar projects. The project will be located in the King Hussein Bin Talal Development Area, the Mafraq governorate and the Amman governorate. Kawar Energy will also be responsible for the operations and maintenance of all three solar projects for a period of 20 years. The project is expected to generate around 70 GWh per year, which is estimated to reduce CO₂ emissions by 41,500 tons annually.

According to EBRD, since 2012, it has provided over €1.3 billion ($1.43 billion) to 43 projects in Jordan, including more than €596 million ($657.74 million) in loans to 13 projects in the country’s power sector. Further, multilateral developmental investment bank also claims that with its contribution, Jordan’s renewable energy sector has increased capacity from around 20 MW to over 1,000 MW between 2012 and 2019, with an estimated 1.2 GW under construction or development.

Last year, the EBRD had announced that it will provide $265 million long-term loan to Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (NEPCO). The fund was be used to improve the integration of renewable energy into the grid. Apart from this, the loan was also extended to help NEPCO to refinance its existing short-term debt.

Earlier, Mercom reported that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, arranged a financial package of up to $188 million for the development of a 248 MW solar project in Jordan.

In April 2019, Mercom reported on Dubai’s AMEA power achieving financial closure for a 50 MW solar project in Jordan.

Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.