Solarquarter Middle East magazine interviewed Mr. Farah A. Qaqish, DGM, Izzat Marji Group. He spoke about the services his company offers in the Middle East. He threw light on current challenges and opportunities the sector offers in Jordan. He also mentioned about the technologies being adopted in the region and about his future plans.
Please tell the readers about the services Izzat Marji Group provides in the clean energy space.
Izzat Marji Group (IMG) was founded in 1985 as a wholesale trader for plumbing accessories and fittings. Later on, it expanded to cover more than 50 international top brands, and the group evolved to contain 6 companies inside Jordan, and 3 companies outside Jordan; located in Kuwait, UAE, and KSA. In 2012, IMG opened a dedicated company to handle the scopes and services of renewable energy and the energy
efficiency solutions and services. Since then, IMG has implemented more than 500 different energy projects.
What are the current challenges and opportunities in the solar sector in Jordan ? How can the challenges be faced?
Since the issuance of the renewable energy law in 2012, there have been many successful stories all over the country; by implementing PV and Wind energy projects. Later on, some challenges came to the top such as the limitation of PV capacities in some areas due to the saturation of the grid in those areas, which led to rejecting some of the PV projects from being realized. In 2019, the government decided to limit the maximum capacity of PV systems not to exceed 1.0 MW. This led to a major reduction in the annual approved capacities, but gave room to more electricity users to implement renewable energy projects to their facilities. Nowadays, the country reached its RE target of 20% and is now targeting to reach 30% by 2030.
What are some smart technologies being adopted in the clean energy and energy efficiency space in the Middle East region?
For the past 10 years, the technology of the PV cells and modules is evolving more than any type of renewable energy, moreover, the prices declined by more than 200%, this was the main reason why PV systems reserved a good share of the total installed capacities since 2010. Large reputable PV manufacturers aim to increase the efficiency and make better ROI to their end products. The use of mono cells along with applying the Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) lead to a major increase in the total efficiency. Also, halving of the cells (HC cells) increased the durability and lowered the cells resistance. On the other hand, Jordan is one of the leading countries in terms of implementing energy efficiency measures to the public buildings. Hundreds of buildings were positively affected by implementing a large make over to their energy usages and behaviors which included installing Inverter technology air conditioning units, fixing and maintaining the building’s envelope, installing Solar systems for both hot water and PV applications.
Solar sector is constantly evolving with time. Is there anything that you are looking forward to in the next few years?
Solar sector will gradually evolve in the region, and especially in the gulf region. I look forward to seeing oil dependent countries adopt renewable energy solutions even for large scale projects, but I prefer to concentrate on Concentrating Solar Projects (CSP) rather than Solar PV projects; the former is more reliable and less intermittent.
How do you see your company contributing to the clean energy sector in the Middle Eastin the next couple of years?
IMG was and will be one of the leaders in the innovation business, it was one of the few first companies who believed in science and turned it into commercial facts. IMG will continue its expansion in the region, and will keep an eye always on any potential
markets.
Anything else that you would like our readers to know?
Energy, Water and Environment are the most challenging issues that the whole world must focus on developing and solving any challenges that might face these sectors. The future is hopefully GREEN!
