The Eighth Arab Forum for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency has begun in Amman, Jordan. The three-day forum, organized by the Arab Renewable Energy Authority (AREC), will bring together 20 countries and focuses on Jordan’s importance as a “vital hub” for investment, smart grids, green hydrogen and sustainability, as well as an energy transfer hub between the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa.
The forum will organize a specialized workshop on promoting energy storage and electric vehicles and the importance of Arab economic integration in renewable energy, as per the local reports.
Secretary-General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Amani Azzam said. “ The energy sector in Jordan is one of the vital sectors following long-term national strategies, the latest of which is the comprehensive national strategy for the energy sector for 2020-2030.”
He further added that the national strategy focuses primarily on achieving energy supply security by diversifying sources and forms of imported energy, developing and utilizing local energy sources, creating opportunities for the private sector, encouraging private investment in infrastructure projects for the energy sector, maximizing regional energy interconnection projects and cross-sector efficiency in energy consumption.
He added, “The strategy aims to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity generation from 21 percent in 2020 to 31 percent in 2030, noting that there are more than 2.6 gigawatts of renewable energy projects connected to the grid since solar and wind energy produced 27 percent of the overall electricity generation by the end of 2022.”
Azzam added that the ministry, in a bid to make Jordan a regional hub for green development, is implementing a set of projects to export green energy, whether with electricity produced from renewable energy sources or green hydrogen.
Jordan is considered the first Arab country to rely on electric vehicles. AREC Secretary-General Muhammad Taani expected the investment volume of Arab countries in the sector to exceed $1 trillion in 2035, with Saudi Arabia at the top of the list of investments of up to $100 billion.
