Investigating Renewable Energy Potentials in Jordan

Jordan is a developing country with an increasing electric demand and very limited fuel resources. As a result, the majority of Jordan's electric generation is fueled by imported fossil fuels, which greatly stresses the country's economy. While Jordan is incredibly resource poor when it comes to fossil fuels, it does have a vast untapped solar energy potential. Jordan's promising renewable energy potential, the negative environmental impact of fossil fuels currently driving Jordan's electric generation process, as well as the unstable nature of fossil fuel prices are the motivators behind this research. This research project will investigate renewable energy technology potentials in Jordan, with focus on solar and wind energy, as they are the most abundant. During the course of this research project, wind and solar availability data are collected for various regions in Jordan. The regions with the highest wind and solar availability are selected as possible generation zones to be considered for modeling. Similarly, data about Jordan's current load demand and installed electric grid generation capacity is researched. The obtained data – both load demand data, and wind and solar availability data-are modeled using HOMER [1] computer software in order to investigate the multiple ways the selected renewable energy technologies can be incorporated into the existing electric grid. The details of the installed Jordanian electric grid are discussed in terms of generation capacity, fuel sources and transmission lines. The most feasible models will be further investigated in terms of reliability and economic feasibility. Lastly, the social and economic impacts of incorporating renewable technologies into the grid will be investigated in terms of predicted economic growth; jobs created by the addition of the technologies, and increased electrification in rural areas, among others.