First Solar has started construction of the 52.5MW AC Shams Ma'an photovoltaic power plant in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The milestone was marked at an event in Amman.
Shams Ma'an is owned by a consortium consisting of Diamond Generating Europe Ltd., Nebras Power Q.S.C., and the Kawar Group. The facility will cover an area of two million square meters and will be powered by First Solar's thin film modules.
When it is completed in 2016, the facility will supply an estimated 160GWh of clean, solar electricity per year, which is equivalent to approximately one percent of Jordan's annual energy output and is sufficient to power 35,000 average homes in the country. Additionally, the plant will also help the country reduce its carbon footprint by displacing approximately 90,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to removing about 20,000 cars from its roads.