Jordan in the Sun - The success of the Solar Panels Project

Abstract

In 2014, the government of Jordan introduced an economic incentive program urging mosques and universities to implement solar panel systems on their buildings. This project is known as the Solar Panels Project. The initiative was driven by the high demand for electricity and hot water in the country. Two years after its introduction around 300 mosques all over Jordan were fully running on solar energy. Jordan as a small country surrounded by political instability and regional powers has gone to great lengths to explore the field of renewable energy and how to tackle climate change. This thesis sets out to investigate how and why the ministry achieved such success. Two factors, economics and religion, are identified and explored. Through fieldwork conducted in Jordan the autumn of 2016, interviewing ministry officials, imams and other parties related to the project this research seeks to answer what motivated the mosques to participate in this project.