Jordan’s new electricity law to focus on hydrogen

• Aims to diversify energy sources
• Focus on green hydrogen
• Will replace provisional legislation

A new electricity law in Jordan will focus on expanding reliance on renewable energy and attracting investment in hydrogen production.

Jordan’s parliamentary energy and mineral resources committee discussed the draft law on Sunday ahead of final endorsement by parliament.

The draft law, approved by the cabinet in February, will replace provisional legislation which has been in place since 2002.

The new law “aims to upgrade the electricity sector and concentrate efforts on renewable energy and storage technologies,” Jordan’s energy and mineral resources minister Saleh Kharabsheh said, quoted by Jordan’s news agency Petra.

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Ahmed al-Abadi, a minister of state, said the law focuses on diversifying renewable energy sources, boosting reliance on these sources and encouraging local and foreign private investment in renewable energy projects, especially green hydrogen.

Jordan has signed several deals with foreign companies to build ammonia and green hydrogen plants for both the local and overseas markets.

Amani Al-Azzam, secretary general of the energy and mineral resources ministry, said last year that Jordan aimed to produce 600,000 tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 and that output could reach 3.4 million tonnes by 2050.

Kharabsheh said that solar power and other renewable energy sources accounted for 29 percent of Jordan’s energy mix, up from 26 percent in 2021. He said the intention was to reach 50 percent from renewables by 2030.