ACWA Power closes financing for Jordan solar power project

Riyadh-based ACWA Power last week closed financing for the 61.3 MW-capacity Risha solar photovoltaic independent power plant (IPP) project in Jordan, following the execution of financing agreements in November.

The financing comprises senior loans of $22 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and $16 million each from Deutsche Investitions-Und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Mbh (DEG) and Arab Bank to Risha for Solar Power Projects, ACWA Power said in a statement.

“We are now looking forward to successfully building the plant and commencing in the commercial operations by Q3-2019. Our goal is to reliably deliver clean energy at the lowest ever tariffs for Jordan,” Thamer Al Sharhan, managing director of ACWA Power, said in the statement.

The power-purchase agreement and the transmission connection agreement for the project were signed with Jordan’s state-owned National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), while the government guarantee agreement) was signed with the Ministry of Finance, simultaneously in March 2017, it added.

Developed by ACWA Power and procured by NEPCO on a bilateral basis, the project is expected to deliver the lowest tariff (0.042 JD/kWh equal to ca. 5.92 USD cents/kWh) across all renewable energy projects in Jordan.

The Risha plant has the capacity to power nearly 12,000 homes every year, and will also result in saving 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide over 20 years – equivalent to 79,000 tons of CO2 per year, the statement said.