
Energy minister inaugurates Jordan's first industrial solar heating project
The facility, operated by Rotografia Jordan–Walid Kilani and Partners, a leading packaging and printing solutions company, is the first of its kind in the Kingdom and marks a milestone in the use of renewable energy in the industrial sector, according to a Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources statement.
Kharabsheh highlighted the ministry's commitment to supporting such projects, noting they help reduce operational costs for local industries, enhance the competitiveness of Jordanian products in global markets, attract investment, and create jobs in solar-powered industrial heating, a field in which Jordan and the Arab world are taking pioneering steps.
The ministry facilitates these initiatives by integrating its equipment into the renewable energy grid, granting customs and sales tax exemptions for renewable energy and energy efficiency equipment, reducing reliance on conventional fuels such as diesel and gas, and ensuring compliance with environmental standards.
Preliminary studies indicate that solar photovoltaic-based industrial heating projects can achieve a return on investment within three to five years, with overall energy savings ranging from 40 to 90 per cent of annual consumption, offering long-term cost reductions for up to 25 years.
Founded in 2014, Power Source Jordan for Renewable Energy Systems L.L.C. is implementing the project. The company specialises in advanced renewable energy technologies, including concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic systems, and provides customised industrial heating solutions for steam, oil, and air, based on industrial control systems.
Thermal solar systems can yield annual returns between 20 and 33 per cent, depending on fuel prices, making them a safe and promising investment. CSP systems, in particular, are highly efficient, requiring nearly half the space of PV systems to achieve the same production capacity.
© Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Zawya
28 minutes ago
- Zawya
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa to Deliver Keynote at African Energy Week (AEW) 2025
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been confirmed to speak at this year's edition of the African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies conference. Taking place September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town, the event represents the premier dealmaking platform for the African energy sector. President Mnangagwa's participation reflects the country's ambition to unlock the full potential of its energy sector and comes as international and regional companies advance projects in natural gas and renewable energy. As a frontier oil and gas market, Zimbabwe offers significant opportunities for exploration firms seeking forays into southern Africa's energy landscape. While the country does not currently produce oil and gas, efforts are being made to position the country as an onshore gas producer. Notably, exploration and production company Invictus Energy continues to advance the development of the Cabora Bassa Project – situated in northern Zimbabwe and representing one of the world's largest untested frontier rift basins. The company made a significant gas discovery at the Mukuyu field in 2023, with a second discovery made at the Mukuyu-2 well in 2024. As the country works towards field development, President Mnangagwa's participation at AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 is expected to facilitate new deals across Zimbabwe's emerging gas market. AEW: Invest in African Energies is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit for more information about this exciting event. On the back of its exploration success, Zimbabwe is now seeking to fast-track field development and bring the Cabora Bassa Project into production. The government is currently finalizing the Petroleum Production Sharing Agreement (PPSA) with Invictus Energy, with a draft PPSA shared with the company in June 2025. The Zimbabwean government has also moved to provide National Project Status (NPS) to the Cabora Bassa Project, reflecting its commitment to the success of this endeavor. With NPS, the project will benefit from a suite of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, including duty exemptions, fast-tracked permitting and streamlined access to key infrastructure and services. The NPS is also expected to support future exploration at the project, including the Musuma-1 exploration well, which is expected to be drilled in H2, 2025. The well is expected to provide a broader scope of the project and represents the first high-impact well to be drilled in the country outside of the Mukuyu discovery area. The well targets a new play type in the basin and, if successful, could unlock a substantial new resource base in addition to the already-proven Mukuyu field. These activities underscore both Invictus' commitment to Zimbabwean gas development as well as the country's drive to unlock the full potential of its energy resources. Beyond natural gas exploration, Zimbabwe continues to make advancements in regional fuel distribution and power infrastructure. In April 2025, Companhia do Pipeline Moçambique-Zimbabwe announced plans to expand the capacity of the Beira corridor pipeline – connecting Beira in Mozambique to Zimbabwe. The company plans to increase capacity from the current three million cubic meters per annum to five million by 2027, underscoring the value of cross-border infrastructure in supporting regional fuel trade. As Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community from August 2024 to August 2025, President Mnangagwa promoted the role regional collaboration in energy and infrastructure plays in Africa. Meanwhile, as a major coal and hydroelectric producer, Zimbabwe has been making strides towards boosting generating capacity and attracting fresh investment across the sector. Coal production is on track to rise 10.5% in 2025, reaching 6.3 million tons throughout the year. In collaboration with neighboring Zambia, the country also plans to restart several coal-fired plants, seeking to address power challenges and boost supply. In the hydropower sector, the country generates the majority of its capacity from the Kariba hydroelectric plant, but new projects across the nation are expected to bolster production even further. These include the Lake Mutirikwi plant, the Batoka Gorge plant, the Osborne Dam Mini-Hydro project, among others. Despite this progress, significant investment gaps remain, highlighting a strategic opportunity for investors and project developers across the entire energy value chain. 'Zimbabwe is a prime example of a frontier energy market with significant potential. Projects across the natural gas, coal and hydropower spaces showcase the level of opportunity that is available across the market, and investors should seize the opportunity to join this promising industry. At a time when African energy demand continues to grow, frontier markets such as Zimbabwe will play an instrumental part in the next era of development,' states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.


The National
an hour ago
- The National
Lebanon needs IMF for fiscal 'discipline' rather than $3bn loan, Carlos Ghosn says
Fugitive car tycoon Carlos Ghosn has said Lebanon needs the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure fiscal discipline rather than to lend money, which can be easily sourced from Lebanese diaspora to fund rebuilding efforts. The IMF's $3 billion programme by itself will not save Lebanon but it would help restore investors' confidence in the economy, Mr Ghosn said in an exclusive interview with CNN Business Arabic. 'We are going to the IMF to organise us [the Lebanese], not because of the $3 billion,' he said in Beirut. 'The $3 billion you can easily collect from the Lebanese living abroad … Why? because it is good business, not because of sentiment. Everything is so cheap in Lebanon,' he said referring to land, companies and asset prices. If investors were confident in the government's rebuilding efforts, they would buy assets now and sell them later for a bigger profit, he added. Lebanon has been grappling with deep financial crises, as successive governments' unrestrained borrowing sent the economy into a tailspin in 2019. Lebanon's economy, which plunged into the worst crisis in its history after the Covid-19 pandemic, suffered another blow after Israel bombed the country heavily during its fight against Hezbollah. The bombing campaign has severely damaged critical infrastructure and devastated residential neighbourhoods in several areas of the country. In April 2022, Lebanon reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a comprehensive economic reform programme supported by a 46-month extended fund facility, proposing access to about $3 billion. However, Lebanese authorities have been accused of dragging their feet on the required reforms. Lebanon's new government is committed to implementing vital reforms to lift the country out of its economic crisis, but such changes could take time, Minister of Economy and Trade Amer Bisat told The National in April. Mr Ghosn was speaking about Lebanon's economy during an interview in Beirut, where he has lived in exile for the last six years since his dramatic escape from Japan. The former Nissan chief executive, who is wanted by France and Japan over financial misconduct claims, last year said he remains 'blocked in Lebanon' due to an Interpol red notice issued after he fled Tokyo in a musical equipment case. Mr Ghosn has Lebanese, French and Brazilian nationality, and Lebanon does not extradite its citizens. 'Theft' not reform The former auto executive urged the private sector in Lebanon to help run government-owned projects, but stopped short of calling for the privatisation of state assets. 'I'm not talking about privatisation, because today prices are so cheap … If you privatised [projects] in Lebanon today it would be theft, you'd be robbing the government and the Lebanese people,' he said. Private companies should manage these projects, while the state continues to own them without interfering with their work, Mr Ghosn said. This will boost the quality of these entities and increase their value and profitability. 'This alone will help the country stand back up,' he said. Despite a $93 billion deposit hole in Lebanese banks since 2019, Mr Ghosn is cautiously optimistic about the banking system. 'Deposits will come back, but it will take a long time,' he said. Lebanese banks imposed arbitrary restrictions on their clients in 2019 after the state failed to honour its bond commitments and the economy went into a tailspin. Customers have been waiting to access their life savings, which have been stuck in banks for the past six years. Chinese EVs to dominate In the wide-ranging interview, the motors tycoon turned his trademark candour on China's automotive dominance, Nissan's decline, AI disruption and cryptocurrencies versus banks. Mr Ghosn traced China's rise back to 2006–2007, when Beijing turned the auto-making industry into a strategic national priority. 'It was clear that the Chinese will be a very important factor in the industry,' he said. 'Legacy players mocked Chinese cars back then. Today, BYD's market cap dwarfs Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.' The rapid rise to supremacy of China's electric vehicles is enabling Beijing to wage a successful economic contest with the US, analysts have said. China's BYD is locked in a supercharged competition in the electric vehicle market with Tesla Motors. China has transformed from 10 to 20 years ago and is now competing with US, German and Japanese car makers, Mr Ghosn said. 'The Chinese will become a major part in the car manufacturing industry from now and into the next 10 years, especially in EVs,' he said. Toyota, Mercedes and BMW are among the rivals who will endure and will face Chinese competition, he added. 'Companies who fear [competition] and hide in their own markets and ask the state to protect them and put tariffs, will disappear,' he said. 'It might take a year, two or three, but they will vanish.' The former Nissan executive highlighted the Japanese company's early EV lead with the Leaf model, which debuted in 2009, and Renault's Zoe model, which entered the market in 2012. 'Five per cent is strategy, 95 per cent is execution. Nissan lost because of poor management after I left,' Mr Ghosn said. Nissan's stock now trades at less than $2, compared to $15 during his tenure, even during global recessions, he said. He slammed current executives for 'empty promises and TV appearances', saying trust and vision are the only levers to restore market value.


The National
an hour ago
- The National
Carlos Ghosn: Lebanon needs IMF to teach it 'discipline'
The fund's $3 billion programme alone will not save Lebanon, ex-Nissan chief tells Abdallah Aljouid in an exclusive interview with CNN Business Arabic