’Nuclear commission preparing for two agreements with Russian reactor vendor’

La Jordanie poursuit la mise en oeuvre de son programme d’énergie renouvelable, même si ses ambitions sont modestes dans ce domaine en comparaison des projets nucléaires et de pétrole de schiste
‘New wind power plant to cover electricity needs of 150,000 people’ | The Jordan Times
▻http://jordantimes.com/new-wind-power-plant-to-cover-electricity-needs-of-150000-people

Construction work on Jordan’s first wind power plant, an investment worth $292 million, will start in the next few weeks, the Jordan Wind Project Company (JWPC) said Monday.

The 117-megawatt wind farm located in Tafileh, 180km southwest of Amman, is expected to be commercially operational in the last quarter of 2015, JWPC Chairman Samer Judeh told The Jordan Times on Monday.

The project is co-developed with InfraMed, which has a 50 per cent share, Abu Dhabi’s Masdar with 31 per cent and EP Global Energy with 19 per cent, Judeh said.

JWPC awarded a contract to Vestas to install turbines for the project, he added, noting that the wind farm will not only be the first in Jordan but also the first in the Middle East.

The wind farm is projected to generate about 400 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, which is sufficient to provide power to 150,000 Jordanians.

The 38 wind turbines required for the project will be directly transported from the Port of Aqaba to the site over the coming months, according to a statement issued by Vestas.

“The first turbines will begin to produce electricity as from the first quarter of 2015, and the wind power plant will be fully operational by August 2015,” the statement said.

Vestas said the project will provide jobs to “150 people during construction and 30 during its operation”.

Under an agreement, JWPC will sell electricity to the government at a fixed price for the next 20 years after operations start, Judeh said, adding that it will help save millions of dollars for the country.

“Generating 117 megawatts using wind energy will save about $50 million annually, as using heavy fuel and diesel for power generation, which is the current situation, means much higher costs.”

#énergie #électricité #Jordanie #éolien #renouvelable

Nucléaire en Jordanie : toujours des controverses
’Nuclear commission preparing for two agreements with Russian reactor vendor’ | The Jordan Times
►http://jordantimes.com/nuclear-commission-preparing-for-two-agreements-with-russian-reactor-ve
La préparation du contrat avec l’exploitant russe progresse mais le projet suscite toujours de multiples oppositions

During the talk show, which also hosted Jamal Gammoh, head of the Lower House’s Energy Committee, Toukan stressed the importance of the nuclear project for the Kingdom, which imports about 96 per cent of its energy needs.

But Gammoh said there was no need for the country to resort to nuclear energy for power generation.

“Jordan has plans for mega-projects in the fields of oil shale and renewable energy to generate power. The nuclear reactor will come with risks and we do not need such risks as the planned renewable energy projects will cover the country’s needs,” the deputy said.

De surcroit, la question de l’exploitation de l’uranium jordanien se pose toujours. Curieusement, les polémiques n’évoque pas le fait que les Jordaniens ne disposent d’une infrastructure de préparation du minerai pour la combustion nucléaire...

Referring to Jordan’s uranium reserves, Toukan said the results of a feasibility study conducted by world-renowned geostatistics centres and experts will be announced within two months.

“Initial results indicate that uranium is available in commercial quantities in Jordan,” he noted.

“I am hopeful that the studies will show that there are more than 40,000 metric tonnes of uranium in the rocks in Jordan,” Toukan said.

In 2012, the government terminated a contract with Areva that conducted feasibility studies on the quantities of uranium in the country.

Areva said there were about 28,000 metric tonnes of uranium in Jordan, Toukan said, adding that the government terminated the contract because Areva’s figures were not accurate.

#nucléaire #électricité #minérai #uranium #Jordanie #Russie