The most powerful family in Jordan is tapping into the most powerful energy source in the universe to electrify their private residence. Prince Muhammad bin Talal, brother of Jordan’s King Hussein I, has installed what is the largest, self-use photovoltaic (PV) array in the Middle East. Covering a sun-facing hillside on his vast Amman estate, this royal installation represents a powerful endorsement of renewable energy.

 

A total of 540 poly crystalline modules and three KACO Powador 60.0 TL3 inverters provide 162 kW of installed generating capacity.

 

Prince Muhammad bin Talal is a longtime proponent of solar power. Solar is environmentally suited to Jordan’s location. It is endlessly renewable, politically stable, and secure in that it lessens dependence on imports. According to World Bank data, Jordan currently imports 98% of its oil and gas, yet renewables contribute less than 1% of Jordan’s energy despite the Kingdom boasting one of the highest annual daily averages of solar irradiance in the world.

 

In April 1012, Jordan’s Parliament adopted the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Law (REEL) aimed at inciting private-sector investment in the kingdom’s commercial renewable energy sector. Earlier this year, development was approved for the 52.2 MW Shams solar energy plant, slated to be the largest solar PV installation in the Middle East.

 

 

PHOTO CREDIT: KACO New Energy website.