Designed and implemented by the National Energy Research Centre at the Royal Scientific Society, this project involved the replacement of inefficient electrical and diesel irrigation pumps, and operating the 214 water pumps in the Jordan Valley and the southern valleys and 106 pumps in the highlands (Azraq, Mafraq and Madaba) on Photovoltaic PV solar energy.
All pumps at Jordan Valley, Southern Aghuar take water from irrigation ponds at the farms. The irrigation pumps are in turn fed by water from the King Abdallah Canal, through a pumping station and a gravity inlet owned and operated by the Jordanian Valley Authority (JVA); whereas the pumps at Highlands (Madba, Azraq, Mafraq) take water from irrigation ponds at the farms. The irrigation pumps are in turn fed by water from the water well at the farms.
The PV pumping project has focused on climate change mitigation, in which the project has assessed the farmer needs, engaging local communities in decision making, supporting and encouraging farmers to use clean energies, spread awareness of energy and water management and improvement of their livelihood, all in the framework of mitigating climate change impact. This project has adopted a bottom approach to determine and define measures needed to be implemented in reality.
The project was carried out in partnership with the Ministry of the Environment through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme (REEE II), which is funded by the EU and in cooperation with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (Jordan Valley Authority "JVA" and Water Authority of Jordan "WAJ").
