Private companies looking to invest in renewable energy projects in Jordan may now be able to negotiate directly with the Energy Ministry, announced a senior official on Wednesday. It is hoped the change — which permits local and international firms to bypass a competitive bidding process — will expedite the development of renewable energy projects across the country.

The provision for direct negotiations is included in the Renewable Energy Law, passed by the Cabinet on Tuesday. The new law brings Jordan up to speed on a number of fronts:

• Net metering: all citizens with solar energy systems or wind turbines will have the right to sell any excess electricity back to their electricity provider — at the full retail rate.
• The law also requires the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) to purchase all electricity generation from utility-scale renewable energy projects.
• The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund, a general funding facility that will finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, will be established.

Jordan’s National Energy Strategy calls for the Kingdom to, by 2015, source seven percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2015. The 2020 goal is ten percent. To meet these objectives over the coming decade, the government envisions installing 600 megawatts (mWs) of new wind generation, between 300 mW and 600 mW of new solar power generation capacity, and 30-50mW of biomass projects. Hence the new Renewable Energy Law.

Unlike its neighbors, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Jordan has few oil and gas resources. The country currently imports about 96 percent of its energy, at a cost of 20 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). Check out this story from the Jordan Times for full details.