“Our cooperation with Petra Solar represents our commitment to the national Let Jordan Shine initiative and our confidence in Petra Solar’s ability to help Tafilah attain energy security, boost the local economy, and create a Solar and Smart Grid industry in the country through knowledge transfer”
Smart Solar is an innovative approach that couples Solar with Smart Grid technology and is deployed in partnership with utility companies to generate clean, safe renewable energy while making the electric infrastructure more stable, efficient and energy independent. This approach builds large scale solar in a reliable fashion that avoids future costs of rebuilding the grid.
Let Jordan Shine is a national plan that will help Jordan diversify its energy generation sources in order to reduce its reliance on external sources for power generation. With abundant sunshine and the escalating cost of unreliable, polluting, imported fossil fuels, Smart Solar Energy generation is a practical, sustainable, clean and cost-effective solution for Jordan. As part of Let Jordan Shine, electric utilities will partner with their consumers in Jordan to deploy utility and consumer-owned Smart Solar Energy systems for installation on consumer and utility assets. Petra Solar will use locally assembled and manufactured products, enabling Jordan to become a regional hub for advanced photovoltaic technologies with potential exports into neighboring countries.
“A robust and diverse energy portfolio is critical to solving Jordan’s energy and economic challenges for many years to come,” said Dr. Shihab Kuran, Petra Solar President and CEO. “Creating a Smart Solar industry in Jordan is very feasible, and will help usher in an era of employment and economic prosperity that will put Jordan on the map in this important field. Jordan has the potential to become a regional center for advanced Smart Solar Energy technologies.”
As a first step in the Let Jordan Shine plan, Petra Solar signed two strategic business agreements during the Jordan – U.S. Business Forum.
Petra Solar signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kingdom Electricity Company (KEC) to explore development of a Solar Power and Smart Grid project with a generation capacity of up to 50 megawatts, with the ultimate goal of providing the Jordanian power system with a less expensive and cleaner source of power and reduced electricity losses. The project would require approval by Jordan’s Electricity Regulatory Commission and other stakeholders.
Key to the success of the Let Jordan Shine initiative will be strong community support throughout the governorates of Jordan. Accordingly, Petra Solar will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with community leaders and stakeholders, including members of Parliament, of governorates throughout the country. During the Jordan – U.S. Business Forum, Petra Solar signed the first of such agreements with Tafilah. Through this collaborative effort, 75 megawatts of Smart Solar power will be installed throughout the Tafilah Governorate.
“Our cooperation with Petra Solar represents our commitment to the national Let Jordan Shine initiative and our confidence in Petra Solar’s ability to help Tafilah attain energy security, boost the local economy, and create a Solar and Smart Grid industry in the country through knowledge transfer,” said Senator Dr. Mohammad Alsaqour.
Subsequent to the Jordan – U.S. Business Forum, Petra Solar signed an additional Memorandum of Understanding on June 1, 2011 for 75 megawatts of Smart Solar power with Karak Governorate.
Petra Solar plans to continue the positive momentum by signing further Smart Solar deployment agreements with remaining governorates throughout Jordan as well as engaging in collaborative agreements with several academic institutions across the country.
Petra Solar is partnering with key Middle Eastern companies on Smart Solar projects that confront renewable energy challenges with inventive solutions. Petra Solar employs an international team of engineers and scientists including talent from the Middle East who are valuable contributors to product development and advanced research efforts. In addition, the company is engaged with many countries around the globe and is helping them achieve their goal of an energy independent future.
