Syria awarded Gamesa Corp. of Spain a contract to build the country's first wind farm and Germany's Sunset Energietechnik GmbH another for a solar plant, a government official said today.
Sunset Energietechnik was chosen to build a one-megawatt photovoltaic plant, Khalil Sheikhi, general manager of the National Energy Research Center, said in an interview in Damascus.
The National Energy Research Center, an affiliate of the Ministry of Electricity, also selected Gamesa out of five bidders to build a 60-million euro ($78 million) wind farm for power generation that will have a capacity of 50 megawatts, he said. The wind farm will be located southwest of the central city of Homs, al-Baath newspaper said today, citing Sheikhi.
Syria, the largest crude oil producer in the eastern Mediterranean, is seeking alternative energy sources as crude output falls from its 1996 peak. Syria plans to spend 350 billion Syrian pounds ($7.5 billion) under a five-year power plan, including wind and solar projects, SANA news agency reported Dec. 16, citing Electricity Minister Ahmad Kayali.
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world's largest maker of wind turbines, will develop a wind energy project with generation capacity of 50 to 100 megawatts south of Damascus, the official Syrian Arab News Agency said May 2.
The country's demand for power stood at 44.5 billion kilowatts in 2009, up 5.9 percent from the previous year, according to figures from the state-run Public Establishment for Electrical Generation and Transfer. Power supply reached 43.3 billion kilowatts last year, an increase of 5.6 percent from 2008.
Syria is encouraging the development of private businesses in its state-dominated economy, and President Bashar al-Assad issued an energy law on Nov. 14 enabling foreign and local private investors to generate and distribute electricity.
The International Monetary Fund has urged Syria to speed its transition to a market-based economy while reducing its dependence on the oil industry.
