Economic, Environmental and Social Impacts of Developing Energy from Sustainable Resources in Jordan

Abstract

Sustainable development is an evolving policy taking different forms in countries throughout the world. The development of renewable energies from solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and tidal will improve energy security for oil importing countries and promote sustainability. Renewables also create employment and a supply chain of industries that educate, design, finance, procure, manufacture, manage, construct, commission, and maintain the new clean energy technologies.

This article details the status of the development of renewable energy sources in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) concentrating on the successful efforts in Jordan. The development of Jordan’s regulatory system began after the oil crisis in 2008 with renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency legislation in 2012.

The economic, environmental and social impacts of renewable energy (RE) will be discussed as will the lessons learned from adopting strategies to achieve the renewable energy targets in the energy mix. These lessons can be implemented locally by other oil importing countries to improve energy resilience, energy security, and contribute to global climate change adaptation efforts. This article concentrates on the development of sustainable energies which are naturally available, socially acceptable and economically feasible in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan.