Philadelphia Solar switches on MENA's largest solar-plus-storage park

February 19 (Renewables Now) - Philadelphia Solar today said it has kicked off commercial operations at a 11-MWp solar park with a 12.6 MWh energy storage system in Jordan.

The plant is the second phase of the Al Badiya solar farm in the Kingdom's Mafraq governorate, which went live in 2015. The expansion brings the complex’s total solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to 23 MW and adds 12.6 MWh of battery storage capacity. According to Philadelphia Solar, this is the largest utility-scale solar-plus-storage park in the Middle East and North Africa region, while the battery storage component is touted as the biggest one in the Middle East.

Al Badiya’s second phase uses 34,300 polycrystalline panels of 320 Wp each, mounted on Philadelphia Solar PS-1P-Tracker systems. Equipment for the plant was produced locally. The generated electricity will be sold under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Irbid District Electricity Company, signed last summer.