RSS, JEDCO and Petra Solar agree to advance Smart Solar Energy plan
The Jordan Times. February 14th, 2012
AMMAN — Petra Solar Inc., Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO), and the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) of Jordan announced in a press release this week a mutual agreement to mobilise the first phase of the national Smart Solar Energy plan which was proclaimed at the Jordan-US Business Forum held last May.
The plan, called Let Jordan Shine, will help create a more sustainable future for Jordan and will help Jordan diversify its energy generation sources, the press statement indicated
“Our cooperation with Petra Solar represents our commitment to the Let Jordan Shine initiative and our confidence in Petra Solar’s ability to help Jordan with renewable energy development and research”, the press release quoted Her Royal Highness Princess Sumaya Bint El Hassan, president of El Hassan Science City (EHSC) and RSS, as saying.
“This project provides a model of using technology to power economic development and social progress. We value Petra Solar as it employs an international team of engineers and scientists including talent from Jordan and the Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT),” the Princess added.
Issa Batarseh, PSUT president and co-founder of Petra Solar, said: “Jordanian graduate students and PSUT graduates have consistently proved to be highly competitive with their peers from the USA, India and China.”
Petra Solar has teamed up with JEDCO, a Jordanian corporation committed to the advancement of Jordan through support of development projects, and RSS, a national not-for-profit, non-governmental, applied research institution with the mission of bringing science into the service of sustainable progress in Jordan, to begin rollout of Smart Solar Energy in Jordan.
Through their collaborative efforts, Petra Solar’s SunWave™ Smart Solar systems will be installed on the first 1,000 homes of the Tafileh Project, which will consist of 20,000 homes across the governorate.
According to the press statement, residents of Tafileh who participate in the programme will reap the benefit of a reduced electric bill, as each Smart Solar system installed on a rooftop will feed electricity directly into that home.
The systems will generate clean, safe renewable energy, plus they will build a wireless smart grid communication network throughout Tafileh, which will help make the electric infrastructure more stable, efficient and energy independent.
“The programme to help power Tafileh homes with Smart Solar Energy will also foster economic development in the governorate by creating jobs and training residents in solar and smart grid installation and technology,” said Shihab Kuran, Petra Solar president and chief executive officer.
“When complete, the project will be a showcase for a distributed solar and smart grid infrastructure that encompasses an entire province,” he added in the press release.
Industry and Trade Minister Sami Gammoh said: “This agreement comes within the plans of the government to develop infrastructure and to create renewable energy projects in the governorates.”
He added: “Renewable energy projects can directly contribute to poverty alleviation by providing the energy needed for creating businesses and employment reducing electricity invoices from conventional sources.”
Gammoh indicated in the press statement that the first phase of the project will be directed for domestic use and that the produced energy will later be used in different projects with the aim of establishing economic and sustainable development.
EHSC is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation and encompasses three main constituents, namely the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), Jordan’s largest and most prestigious applied research institution, the PSUT, a leading Jordanian university focusing on ICT and Electronics Engineering, and the El Hassan Business Park, Jordan’s leading entrepreneurial centre and technology incubator.
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.
