Bidder chosen for 40 MW wind plant

Jordan has moved a step closer to getting its first commercial wind power plant off the ground with the announcement that Terna Energy, one of Greece's major owner-operators of wind farms, has been selected as the preferred bidder for a 30-40 MW facility at Al Kamshah, north of Amman. Terna submitted its bid in association with Vector Wind Parks, also of Greece, and local company Enara Energy Investments. The Enara group holds a 51% stake in the formerly state-owned Central Electricity Generating Company, which has around 1700 MW of installed capacity, including Jordan's two small wind projects with a combined capacity of 1.45 MW. The Al Kamshah facility, due online by the end of 2010, is to be run on a build, own and operate basis under a 20-year concession, with local utility National Electric Power Company buying the output. The World Bank's International Finance Corporation will provide debt finance to the project. Of the eight companies shortlisted following a call to tender in 2007, only Terna and Russia's Inter Raoues decided to continue to the final round. The others were Belgium's Suez-Tractabel; Spain's Eolica Navarra; Mitsui of Japan; UK-based Wind Prospect; Denmark's European Wind Farms; and Italian developer Asja Ambiente Italia.