He alleges that the preferred builder is “bankrupt”:  energy conglomerate AREVA suspended projects in France, Africa and the USA last December after revenues dropped about $2 billion, citing knock-on impacts caused by Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Toukan says the plant will cost one third of Kharabsheh’s prediction, adding that uranium reserves have capacity to fuel this project and also be exported for sale to neighboring countries.  He notes that the plant developer will be required to cover half of the total program cost.

“At the end of the day, no agreements to set up a nuclear plant in the Kingdom will be signed unless thoroughly discussed and fully approved by Parliament,” concluded Toukan.  Formerly Minister of Energy, Chairman Toukan holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Who is looking at the social side of nuclear?

Nuclear economics are compelling: steep startup costs are offset by long-term and abundant supply of low cost fuel.  Nuclear production would strengthen Jordan’s energy self-reliance and security, and insulate the Kingdom from fossil fuel price fluctuations.  Technical debate continues over resources (how much uranium is locally available? where’s the water supply?),  but political and environmental arguments are largely ignored.

Lax regulation and enforcement makes for jittery confidence in public health and safety.  Absent robust impact assessment, how will tribal protests  be quelled if a governate is unhappy being selected as the project site, as a transportation conduit, or as the dumping ground for resulting waste?

Will high-paying jobs generated by the new industry be outsourced to foreign expertise?  The pro-nuclear side might quiet opposition by producing environmental information.

Lay their due-diligence cards on the table: let the facts run their course.

Where is a Jordan Renewable Energy Commission?

Lucrative cost-shared energy development is not restricted to the nuclear industry: large-scale wind, solar and geothermal facilities are in play throughout Jordan.

Exploiting renewable opportunities would hit targets broader than energy production and environmental stewardship.  Specialty green job creation would significantly underpin Kingdom economic development.  Establish a national Commission or Ministry fully dedicated to exploration and development of Jordanian renewables.  Link in disparate bodies like the National Energy Research Center, the Ministry of Energy and vox populi such as Jordan Green Building Council and Jordanian enviro-activist groups for a comprehensive dialogue as policies are formed.

Inclusion incites positive debate, understanding of the issues and fuller popular support.

Back in Parliament, the Jordan Times reported a majority of deputies voted down a request to form an investigative committee into the nuclear program, opting to refer the case to the House Energy and Mineral Resources Committee for future examination.

MP Kharabsheh refused to withdraw his inquiry and repeated a request for all program due-diligence documents.

Environmental activists united in protest for a second time in six months urging public debate over Jordan’s emerging atomic energy program.  Over two dozen anti-nuclear activists protested near Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh’s Amman offices last Saturday, in vocal reaction to a government policy statement reaffirming Jordan’s commitment to nuclear development.

At the center of the storm is planned construction of a nuclear research plant on the Jordan University of Science and Technology campus. The project is slated to commence in 2013, followed by a second reactor on the Gulf of Aqaba intended to power desalination processes.

Four additional nuclear electric power plants would be brought online by 2035. Activists accuse the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission of broadcasting a “feel-good” view: emphasizing job creation and energy independence yet keeping silent on environmental impacts and public safety concerns made more critical in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Nuclear energy is the thirstiest source of power; a single reactor drinks over 13 million gallons of water a day. Water scarcity is serious problem in Jordan with stiff competition to provide adequate supplies for public consumption, agricultural and industrial uses. Generation processes for solar and wind energy require little or no water.

At the same time, this same government is working to develop its renewable energy program. In May, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources issued an RFP seeking interest in generation of electric power through renewable means, attracting  65 submissions, including proposals to construct solar and wind generators in Kingdom.

Salah al-Azzam, president of the National Energy Research Centre,  supports domestic renewables.

Why Jordan should go for wind and solar power

“Jordan is endowed with a high number of sunny days, up to 330 days (per year) in some areas. Wind speeds are over seven meters per second in mountainous areas, well above the international standard minimum of five meters per second required for wind energy projects,” he said. “They are natural, perpetual, and inexhaustible sources that ensure that future generations have safe and non-life-threatening sources of energy.”

Jordan relies on imports for 96 percent of its energy needs, primarily in the form of natural gas. Annual population growth of 2.2% per year is outpaced by an annual 5 to 7% increase in demand for electricity. According to the National Energy Strategy for 2007-2010, by 2020, 10% of the country’s energy will come from renewable sources, 14% from oil shale, and 6% from nuclear energy.

Jordan currently has no renewable energy sources on a commercial scale.

Above image via archinect

Israeli designer Adital Ela Asks for help with her WindyLight sustainable lighting project on Kickstarter.

Kickstarting a new sustainable lighting project that employs wind in generating energy to create light is sustainable Israeli designer Adital Ela.  Her project, WindyLight, is a “family of self-sufficient outdoor lights that perform on free, clean energy and create a unique and sensual illuminating experience.  [The WindyLights] are designed to dance to the rhythm of soft gusts of wind and to provide light even in the urban environment.”

But Ela doesn’t plan on doing it alone and is asking for the public’s support via Kickstarter, an online funding platform that helps get small creative projects off the ground.  You could help fund this project starting at as little as $1.

The WindyLights themselves are small pinwheel-like modules that collect wind energy and convert it into electrical current, allowing the LEDS in the pinwheels to shine through.  The WindyLights are designed with the intention of grouping several pinwheels together to create a bright and beautiful effect.

In Ela’s words, “launching the product will also support us in creating urban lighting installations in prominent locations around the world followed by community activities to stimulate creative thinging towards sustainability design solutions.”

In order to bring WindyLight into the world, she needs to raise $65,000 (and over $12,000 has already been raised over the past 10 days).

Since KickStarter has an “all or nothing” policy, though, the remaining sum must be raised over the next 40 days or none of the backers will be charged at all.  The clock is ticking on WindyLight, and Ela is hoping to appeal to potential backers by offering them either an actual WindyLight, silver brooch, or t-shirt.

To read more about WindyLight and help support the project, visit the WindyLight Kickstarter page.

Read more about sustainable lighting::
Israel Plans Wind-Powered Lighting for Coastal Highway, Takes Initial Step to Buttress Shoreline Cliffs
Solar Bottle Lights a Bright Idea for the Developing World
Don’t Sit Close to Your CFL Lighbulbs, They May Cause Skin Cancer

Even as Israel’s cabinet approved a national action plan for the promotion of clean technology growth, Israel’s government is also considering slashing incentives for mid-sized solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants due to fiscal constraints.

The inconsistent policies represent what has been a choppy and uncertain legislative environment for Israeli cleantech companies. With various solar incentives due to expire at the end of 2011, Israeli solar PV companies–which have been profiting since 2008 from the global drop in solar panel prices–are starting to get nervous.

“People will avoid private power production in Israel if the rates the entire industry relied on are changed,” said Association of Renewable Energy of Israel CEO Eitan Parnass.

But Israeli national electricity prices have been on the rise in recent months, a factor that could push some homeowners and develops to invest in solar without government support. On October 25, Israel’s Public Utility Authority – Electricity approved a 4.72% increase in electricity prices citing the rising price of coal (6.5% increase) as well as rising prices of other electric generating commodities. Indeed, some Israeli solar companies, including SolarEdge Technologies and Arava Power have been successfully raising venture capital and increasing sales in Israel and abroad.

The cabinet’s approval of the proposal to create a transparent national action plan for cleantech growth may be a sign however that Israel’s government is ready to clarify incentives and create a more stable legislative environment for the industry. It may also be a concession to international pressures. Israel is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which in June 2009 outlined a Declaration on Green Growth that requires member countries to transition to low-carbon economies.

“We are resolved to make further efforts  to use efficient and effective climate policy mixes, including through market-based instruments, regulations and other policies, to change behaviour and foster appropriate private sector responses. We will consider expanding incentives for green investment, in particular in areas where pricing carbon is unlikely to be enough to foster such private sector  responses,” the 2009 OECD declaration says.

Proposed the Environmental Protection and Industry, Trade and Labor ministers, the legislation will create a government task force that over the next six months will study Israel’s various economic, national security and environmental issues at hand and will submit a detailed action report in May 2012.

“What interests us is the quality of life of the country’s citizens, and economic growth that destroys and depletes natural resources does not improve quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to advance green growth, taking into consideration public health and the environment,” said Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan in a statement. “Everyone will benefit from this green growth: the market and the environment.”

Image via travelpod

Green Prophet is heading across the desert to attend the second annual Dii Conference being held at the swanky Semiramis InterContinental Hotel in Cairo. Part of a concerted push to develop wind and solar energy in Africa and the Middle East, the Desertec conference being held on the 2nd and 3rd of November is one of the most important gatherings of its kind. This is an opportunity for business and government leaders from MENA and Europe to discuss the various opportunities and challenges associated with growing and exporting the desert’s numerous renewable energy resources.

The conference will be hosted by Egypt’s Prime Minister Dr. Essam Sharaf, who says that the Egyptian government “shall spare no effort to turn this international event into a real success.” Topics to be discussed include regulatory challenges associated with developing renewables (specifically Concentrated Solar Power, Photovoltaics, and Wind Power), success factors, challenges of long distance transmission, and renewables market integration. We will also attend a tour of the Kuraymat hybrid gas and solar energy plant on Friday November 4th, so come on by and introduce yourself!

More on Desertec:

Arab Spring May Boost Chance for Desertec Solar Power

Looks Like Desertec and Morocco’s Government May Join Hands

Next for MENA Nations: Desertec University

Asian Development Bank has provided a loan of $36.8 million to Pakistan’s first privately owned wind farm by the Turkish company, Zorlu Enerji Electrik Uretim, that is utilising it to raise the power output from the current 6 megawatts (MW) to 56.4 megawatts.

A statement issued by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) said the total cost of the project is $159 million, out of which 30% is being financed through equity provided by Zorlu Enerji and the rest through loans from Asian Development Bank (ADB), and ECO Trade and Development Bank, as well as a Pak Rupee loan from Habib Bank.

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, is also investing $38.1 million in Zorlu Enerji Pakistan Limited to support the construction of the only wind power project in the Sindh Province.

South-Asia’s first wind turbine
The 56.4 megawatt Zorlu Pakistan wind project is the first internationally financed wind-power development in Pakistan, which will increase the country’s much needed capacity to provide renewable-energy. When constructed, it will be one of the first two commercial wind-power projects in Pakistan.

Zorlu Enerji is a key IFC eco-client in the renewable energy sector, dating back to 2009, when IFC financed the firm’s 135MW wind-power project in Turkey.

Gulrez Hoda, IFC Director for Infrastructure and Natural Resources in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa, said,

“IFC’s partnership with Zorlu Enerji, one of our key clients, enables us to extend additional support to the renewable energy sector in Pakistan. We hope this project will stimulate the interest of other investors in harnessing the country’s favorable wind resource,”

The project will help to alleviate Pakistan’s power deficit by developing an indigenous, renewable resource for generating power.

It will also contribute to reducing the country’s reliance on imported fuel for power generation. IFC says it is “the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets”.

Environmental benefits to wind turbines in Pakistan
Senior Investment Specialist at ADB Siddhartha Shah said, “We estimate that five to seven projects will come on line following ADB’s support for Zorlu Enerji’s wind farm.”

“The project will have multiple benefits including helping realise the government’s target of 6 per cent renewable energy by 2030, while contributing to employment opportunities and economic growth in one of the poorest regions of the country.”

Pakistan’s government is undertaking a major drive to expand its energy sources, including tapping renewable energy resources. There is around 50,000 MW of wind power capacity available in the south of Pakistan alone.

Pakistan’s environmental-track record
Zorlu Enerji, listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, owns and operates Turkey’s largest wind farm.

Asian Development Bank has taken the lead in supporting the Pakistani government’s efforts to attract private sector capital into the power sector. Initiatives include,

• Financing Pakistan’s first run-of-river hydropower project, the New Bong Escape Project in 2009, and
• The funding of three combined cycle power plants using domestic gas ― Fauji Kabirwala Power Company Limited, Foundation Power Company Daharki Limited and Uch-II Power Private Limited.

In fiscal year 2011, amid uncertainty for environmental performance, IFC invested over $500 million in renewable-energy projects, representing over 60% of IFC’s financial commitments in the power sector.

“Pakistan’s first wind-power plant project to be built with international finance was made possible by the support we received from IFC,” said Zorlu Energy General Manager Arif Özozan. “By demonstrating the viability of Pakistan’s local and renewable resources, this project is expected to have a considerable impact on the economy.”

How will Pakistan gets its wind power?
The existing power generated by the wind farm is currently being dispatched to the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company.

Once the second construction phase is complete – expected in 2013 – the farm will supply power to the national grid through a conditional 20 year purchase agreement with the National Transmission and Dispatch Company.

Potential for economic growth
Director in ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Michael Barrow said in a statement, “Acute energy shortages, caused by low investment, are cutting into Pakistan’s economic growth. This deal should provide a bankable template for future privately funded wind projects and send a signal that Pakistan’s wind sector is attractive for private sector investment and financing.”

Pakistan’s stretched fossil fuels reserves
Currently, Pakistan relies heavily on imported fossil fuels for the bulk of its energy needs. However, this is costly, puts a heavy burden on its foreign exchange reserves, and leaves the country vulnerable to supply disruptions and global price fluctuations.

Investment in new potential capacity has lagged the demand which has surged by over 40% over the past five years, resulting in regular brownouts – a drop in electrical power supply – in all major urban centers and the introduction of power rationing.

This has forced shops and industries to close early, undermining Pakistan’s economy. The extra 50.4MW output will provide much-needed electricity, improve security of energy provision, and lower reliance on fossil fuels.

News source :: Associated Press of Pakistan

Image:: Developing8

Read more on Pakistan and wind energy:
Hidden Costs of Constructing Wind Farms in Turkey
Meet the “Miss Pakistan” of Renewable Energy
Palestinian and Israeli Wind Companies Create Energy Venture for Peace
Turkish Village Goes Off The Grid With A Wind Turbine

Iran, finding itself increasingly isolated due to US-backed sanctions, has been pressing energy-deficient Pakistan to connect with Iran’s natural gas “peace pipeline“. Natural gas is better than coal (which is killing miners) and dirty fuel that Pakistanis use in their households, but it is not the greenest. We laud a new announcement by the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, which is investing $38.1 million in the company Zorlu Enerji Pakistan Limited, a Turkish energy firm to build what it is calling a landmark wind energy project in Pakistan, the Associated Press Pakistan reports.

The Zorlu Energy Companies Group today has a total installed capacity of 603 MW electricity and 192 tons/hour of steam produced by fourteen power plants – five natural gas, seven hydroelectric, one geothermal, and one fuel-oil -  located in different parts of Turkey. The new wind power plant it will build will be located in the Sindh Province, which is still a region risky for investments, due to armed guards attacks.

However, if security needs are met, and we hope they are, the 56.4MW wind project is a step in the right direction in harnessing the global community’s financing dollars for green development. Other investors include the Asian Development Bank, ECO Trade and Development Bank, and Habib Bank which are financing the project which will cost $159 million USD.

Wikipedia editors say that Pakistan plans to produce 2500 MW of wind energy by 2015 to stop crippling power shortages.

In other news the Recharge blog is reporting that the Norwegian company NBT plans to build a 250MW wind farm in Pakistan, possibly in the first stage of what prove to be a $1 billion USD renewable energy scheme in Pakistan. Bring on the wind in Pakistan!

When the Zorlu Energy wind farm will be built it will be only one of two commercially operating wind power projects in Pakistan, and according to the report the deal supports Turkish power entities and their interest entering Pakistan’s renewable energy market.

“IFC’s partnership with Zorlu Enerji, one of our key clients, enables us to extend additional support to the renewable energy sector in Pakistan. We hope this project will stimulate the interest of other investors in harnessing the country’s favorable wind resource,” said Gulrez Hoda, the IFC Director for Infrastructure and Natural Resources in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa in a press announcement.

The project will help to alleviate Pakistan’s power deficit by developing a local, renewable resource for creating power. It will also contribute to reducing the country’s reliance on imported fuel from countries like Iran for power generation.

::Associated Press Pakistan

Read more on green Pakistan:
Meet the Miss Pakistan of Renewable Energy
Iran Forges Ties With Pakistan for Energy Business

Image of Pakistani boy flying kit via  o_O

The lights in Akbıyık went out one and a half years ago, when the Turkish Electricity Distribution Company cut off the village’s electricity because of outstanding utility bills that amounted to TRY 33,000 ($18,000). At that point, the villagers faced a choice: pay off the debt and get back on the national power grid, or find a new energy source that they could harness and control on their own.

They chose to stay off the grid and switch to wind power, securing their energy future and making them one of the greenest villages in Turkey.

A carefully researched decision

Akbıyık’s residents and village headman researched various forms of renewable energy before settling on wind power. They proposed a TRY 160,000 wind turbine project to the government of their province, Bursa. The villagers contributed TRY 20,000, but the majority of the initial costs were paid by the Bursa Provincial Administration.

With a 50 KW capacity, the turbine won’t break any power generation records for wind energy. But it has already enabled Akbıyık to pay off its electric debts, and it is being used to power a water pump that will allow the village to remain completely independent from state utility providers.

Setting the pace for the government

The turbine began to spin several days before Turkey’s government announced an ambitious new National Wind Energy System, in which Turkey will begin producing and designing wind turbines itself rather than relying on foreign parts and engineering expertise.

Although the turbine in Akbıyık is not 100% local to Turkey, the village’s decision to commission it indicates that regular Turks are far ahead of their government when it comes to implementing sustainable energy solutions.

Part of Turkey’s eco-friendly grassroots tradition

Unlike other wind turbines in Turkey, which are owned by private companies, Akbıyık’s turbine belongs completely to the villagers, according to Kemal Demirel, secretary general of Bursa’s provincial government. Demirel expects similar projects to be implemented in other Bursa villages in the future.

Grassroots efforts to produce energy sustainably have a proud history in Turkey. Last year, a mosque in the village of Büyükeceli installed photovoltaic panels on its roof to protest a nuclear power plant that government officials were trying to build in the area. The country’s first Alternative Energy Races were held in Izmir this year, showcasing a range of solar- and hydrogen-powered vehicles built by teams of Turkish university students and professors.

:: Hürriyet Daily News

Read more about renewable energy in Turkey:

Local Wind Energy Industry Emerges In Turkey

Renewable-Energy Cars Heat Up In Turkey

Mosque in Turkey Goes Solar

Image via DaDDiRi

Turkey has used wind energy for more than ten years now, but never from locally developed and produced wind turbines. That’s about to change.

In what Turkish newspapers are calling “the biggest project in the history of the republic,” the Turkish government recently announced the country’s first National Wind Energy System. The project, which is led by a team of experts from top Turkish universities and scientific unions, has been ongoing — in secret — for the past two and a half years.

Late next year, expect the unveiling of the first stage in this ambitious energy project: a 500-KW wind turbine built entirely locally, using only parts produced in Turkey.

Moving quickly

By 2014, the government expects to follow up this 500-KW model with a 2,500-KW wind turbine, also completely locally produced. While these two turbines will constitute a 3-MW drop in the bucket of Turkey’s approximately 1,500-MW installed wind capacity, they indicate that the government is serious about laying the foundation for a local wind energy infrastructure in the country.

The National Wind Energy System has cost TRY 50 million ($27 million) so far. Over the next five years, the Turkish government hopes the System will “match the automotive industry’s contribution to to the country’s economy.” By using entirely locally sourced machinery and labor, the System will also bring Turkey closer to its goal of energy independence.

Turkish energy officials have previously declared that they expect wind capacity to reach 5,000 MW by 2015 and an astounding 20,000 MW by 2023 (Turkey’s centennial). The government expects the latter goal to require $30 billion in investment capital, of which it hopes to procure $7.5 billion locally.

Great Potential

If Turkey can manage to meet its ambitious goals, it will join European countries such as Spain and Germany in the ranks of the top wind energy-users worldwide. With 90,000 MW of potential wind capacity, the biggest mystery is why Turkey hasn’t yet harnessed more than 2 percent of it.

Efforts to spur local investment in wind power before now were hindered in Turkey by a botched auction of tenders for wind project licenses in 2008. In that year, Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority awarded 80,000 MW-worth of tenders that overlapped at grid connection points, requiring the whole set to be re-auctioned.

Hopefully, the National Wind Energy System marks the government’s serious intent to realize a large-scale wind industry in Turkey. The country’s actual installed wind capacity in 2015, however, will be the best indicator of its success.

:: Balkans.com

Read more about wind energy in Turkey and the region:

Hidden Costs of Constructing Wind Turbines in Turkey Include Many New Roads

Masdar’s Renewables Strategy Shifts To Wind

Wind-Powered Mosque Makes Going Green A Breeze

Image via photography.andreas

Since its various eco-parks and green housing projects haven’t done enough to stimulate an appreciation of sustainable development in Jordan’s residents, perhaps the Kingdom’s crazy new Star Trek themed park can fill in the gaps. Once an extra in a Star Trek Voyager episode, King Abdullah is no doubt behind the inspiration to build a $1.5 billion dollar project in the port city of Aqaba that, unlike the UAE’s absurd Global Warming Park, will be a “23rd century” showcase of renewable energy.

Funding for this project, which is expected to provide at least 500 hundred high-skilled jobs, will come from investors in both the United States and the Gulf region. Amman-based Rubicon Group Holding will be responsible for developing the entertainment elements of the resort, while Paramount Recreation will oversee the “Star Trek” component.

Although the resort is massive – at 74 hectares – and will feature obnoxious four star hotels and 17 entertainment zones, it does have an eco-upside that has the power to inadvertently teach visitors about the benefits of cleantech and other creative environmental solutions.

A pavilion will showcase greywater harvesting, solar energy, wind energy, and a variety of other renewable techniques that will also be incorporated into the development itself. Callison has been commissioned to work with Rubicon to design the futuristic facilities that is hoped will also stimulate tourist activity.

This is the splashiest intervention to come from the usually circumspect Kingdom. It remains to be seen whether it will have a negative or positive net environmental impact.

:: Hotelier Middle East

More on Jordan’s Renewable Future:

New Eco-Park in Jordan

Jordan’s Valley Eco-Center Opens Guesthouse

Jordan Teams with Spanish Firm to Cool Homes with the Sun