Shamsuna PV

active

The Shamsuna Power Company will be developing a 10 MW PV project within the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), which is located in the Governorate of Aqaba in the south of Jordan, approximately 14 kilometers (km) south of the city of Aqaba (the “Project”). The project will consist of 814 PV power arrays (with a total of 40,300 multi-crystalline PV panels) with a capacity of 12.2 kilowatt peak (kWp). The total project area of 18 hectares (ha) is located in the ‘Southern Industrial Zone’ (SIZ) within the ‘South Port’ (SZ), which was identified for industrial purposes in both the ASEZ Master Plan (2001) and the SZ Master Plan (2006). Within the SIZ itself is a 130-ha area recently zoned for PV solar, within which the project is located. Project procurement and construction will take place between September 2014 to April 2015, and the project will be operational for a 20-year period. All power arrays will be connected through underground cables to the on-site switchgear, which will then connect via a 6-km 30 kilovolt (kV) overhead transmission line to an existing substation located in the Aqaba Thermal Power Station (ATPS); the project’s EPC contractor / O&M provider will develop and maintain that segment of the project. The existing and off-site substation, managed by the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), will convert power to 132 kV, which will then be transported to the national grid through existing high voltage transmission lines. The developer signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NEPCO in March 2014. The ASEZ was initiated by the Government of Jordan in 2001 to create a duty free, regional focal point for investment and tourism around the southern port city of Aqaba. The ASEZ is administratively under the authority of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), which is a financially and administratively autonomous institution. The ADC was launched by ASEZA and the Government of Jordan in 2004 to accelerate the economic growth and development in the ASEZ through the expansion of business and related infrastructure. The ADC owns Aqaba’s seaport, airport and strategic parcels of land and is effectively the ‘landlord’ of the project site.