His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday inaugurated a solar-run power plant with a 5.6-megawatt (MW) capacity at the premises of the Royal Hashemite Court.

The project comes under King Abdullah’s directives to establish power plants that rely on renewable energy in order to cover the electricity needs of the Royal Hashemite Court and Royal palaces, as well as decrease expenses and preserve the environment.

The private company that won the project tender completed it in eight months, Royal Hashemite Court Secretary General Yousef Issawi said in a briefing to the King.

Issawi noted that the plant’s experimental operation began three weeks ago, and it will now cover the electricity needs of the Royal Hashemite Court and Al Husseiniya Palace.

He added that work is ongoing on the rest of the project’s phases, which entail switching to solar energy at different locations affiliated with the Royal Hashemite Court.

The project was implemented by the Royal Hashemite Court’s Royal Engineering Administration in cooperation with the private sector, and similar projects will be carried out in Al Ghabawi, Qatraneh and Bergesh, the statement quoted Awwad Hijazi, the administration’s director, as saying.

The power plant will save JD2.8 million in electricity costs annually, and the project’s cost will be recovered in around three years.