Water–Energy Nexus: Addressing Stakeholder Preferences in Jordan

The water and energy sectors are fundamentally linked. In Jordan, especially in the face of a changing climate, the water–energy nexus holds a number of challenges but also opportunities. A key point in exploring synergies is the identification of such, as well as the communication between the water and energy sectors. This paper promotes the importance of using a co-creative approach to help resolve opposing views and assessing stakeholder preferences in the context of the water–energy nexus in Jordan. A computer-supported, co-creative approach was used to evaluate stakeholder preferences and opinions on criteria and future scenarios for the energy and water sector in Jordan, identifying common difficulties and possibilities. The criteria describe socio-ecological aspects as well as techno-economic aspects for both systems. Discussing a set of preliminary scenarios describing possible energy and water futures ranked under a set of sector relevant criteria, a consensus between both stakeholder groups is reached. The robustness of results is determined, using a second-order probabilistic approach. The results indicate that there are no fundamental conflicts between the energy and water stakeholder groups. Applying a participatory multi-stakeholder, multi-criteria framework to the energy-water nexus case in Jordan promotes a clear understanding of where different stakeholder groups stand. This understanding and agreement can form the basis of a joint water–energy nexus policy used in the continued negotiation process between and within national and international cooperation, as well as promoting and developing acceptable suggestions to solve complex problems for both sectors

On the crossroad – renewable energy sources or oil shale? Understanding patterns of social attitudes in Jordan

Energy policy in Jordan is a contested issue as several options for deployment of technologies exist. Oil shale and renewable energy sources are two energy generation technologies which are currently being intensively considered by the Jordanian energy policy process and there are oil shale and renewable energy projects which are currently in operation, in planning or in construction. Each of these options relates to various perceptions of risks and benefits of a given technology and has its opponents and supporters. Understanding of how inhabitants of communities where infrastructure is planned perceive these energy generation technologies is crucial as infrastructure will impact the life of the community and the feedback from the community can improve the deployment of infrastructure. The major focus of this paper is on attitudes of local communities where oil shale and renewable energies are in operation. To identify of how various environmental, technical, social and environmental factors influence attitudes including awareness and perceptions of these two energy generation technologies we conducted large scale surveys in four different communities of Jordan. Two of these communities (Ma’an and Tafileh) had renewable energy projects and other two communities (Lajoun and Attarat) had projects on oil shale extraction and power generation

Country Fact Sheet, Jordan: Energy and Development at a glance 2017

Jordan is experiencing steady economic growth, which is leading to improved living standards and a higher degree of urbanization. The country’s economic growth is linked to i) ongoing tendencies, such as increased population due to immigration and climate change impacts on, for instance, scarce water resources; and ii) growing energy demand, especially for electricity. Electricity, a necessary precondition for economic growth, is required for industrial development and transportation and for electricity-intensive technologies such as cooling and water desalination. Jordanian economic growth is also coupled with fossil fuel consumption, with the biggest share of the country’s electricity supply coming from imported fossil fuels. Because of the unstable political situation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the volatility of energy prices, Jordan’s reliance on energy imports is threatening its security of supply. The Jordanian government is seeking alternatives to imported energy. Renewable energy sources are a high priority, with the government having set the target of reaching 10% of renewable energies in the final energy mix by 2020. While there are several strategies and action plans on how to reach this target, other options such as nuclear, natural gas, and exploration of offshore gas fields are also currently under discussion. Nuclear energy, for instance, could constitute 6% of the overall energy mix by 2020. Jordan has favorable conditions for renewable energies such as wind and solar. Even though the share of renewable energies is not currently significant, this could soon change, given that several projects for deployment of renewable energies are currently in the planning or implementation phases. The goal of this background report is to understand the socioeconomic and political context of the ongoing energy transition in Jordan. The background report is organized around the following questions: - What are the current socioeconomic challenges in Jordan? - What are the political background and framework conditions for participatory governance? - What is the energy context, including current supply and demand and the state of electricity transmission grids? - What is the institutional and regulatory structure of energy policy in Jordan? Addressing these questions is essential for understanding the feasibility of each of the nine technologies discussed in the MENA-SELECT project, including fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables. It is also essential for understanding the human factors of the energy transition, such as the different views of the main stakeholder groups involved in the energy policy process

Are Energy Security Concerns Dominating Environmental Concerns? Evidence from Stakeholder Participation Processes on Energy Transition in Jordan

To satisfy Jordan’s growing demand for electricity and to diversify its energy mix, the Jordanian government is considering a number of electricity-generation technologies that would allow for locally available resources to be used alongside imported energy. Energy policy in Jordan aims to address both climate change mitigation and energy security by increasing the share of low-carbon technologies and domestically available resources in the Jordanian electricity mix. Existing technological alternatives include the scaling up of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind; the deployment of nuclear energy; and shale oil exploration. However, the views, perceptions, and opinions regarding these technologies—their benefits, risks, and costs—vary significantly among different social groups both inside and outside the country. Considering the large-scale policy intervention that would be needed to deploy these technologies, a compromise solution must be reached. This paper is based on the results of a four-year research project that included extensive stakeholder processes in Jordan, involving several social groups and the application of various methods of participatory governance research, such as multi-criteria decision-making. The results show the variety of opinions expressed and provide insights into each type of electricity-generation technology and its relevance for each stakeholder group. There is a strong prevalence of economic rationality in the results, given that electricity-system costs are prioritized by almost all stakeholder groups

Energy Policy at Crossroad: potentials for sustainable energy transition in the Middle East and North African region

Countries of the Middle East and North African (MENA) region such as Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia, are facing challenges which require systems analysis. These challenges are connected with the growing energy demand and the need to diversify energy supply while addressing targets of climate change mitigation and energy security policies. At the same time the countries of the MENA region are also facing challenges of socio-economic development, such as the need in creation of jobs and multiplier effects for national economies as well as of further technological development and political transformation. Deployment of new and upgrading of existing electricity infrastructure, including generation, transmission and distribution systems, is an important prerequisite for sustainable development and economic growth. Energy policy solutions are needed for further upgrading of electricity system, which should be cost efficient, should support multiple development objectives and be based on compromise solutions involving a variety of views as well as perceptions of risks and benefits of various technologies from different stakeholders’ groups. The goal of this research was to explore economic, social, political and environmental effects on national and local levels of different electricity pathways for the period of up to the year 2050 in three countries of the MENA region. The methodology of this research was based on integrated and interdisciplinary approach while applying various methods of stakeholders’ dialogue such as multi criteria decision analysis, participatory modeling and others

Modeling of the Response of a Hot-Wire Anemometer with Neural Nets under Various Air Densities

The sensors, which use the convective heat transfer at hot wires in order to measure the flow rate of gases, are well known. Hot-Wire Anemometry (HWA), which is operated in either constant-current mode or in constant temperature mode, represents the most popular methods to measure the velocity and the flow rate of the fluid flow. Generally, the hot-wire sensors are calibrated against the flow velocity under atmospheric pressure conditions. To calibrate hot-wire sensors under different air densities; a special calibration test rig is needed. In the present paper, calibrations are shown to yield the same hot-wire response curves for density locations in the range of 1 to 7 kg/m3 and its usable mass flow rate range (rU) is 0.1 to 25 kg/m²s. Also, a neural network has been trained with the output data for the hot-wire sensor and tested on our measurements. It was observed that the quality of the results depends on the number of hidden neurons. The predicted values are close to the real ones which indicate the neural net model gives a good approximation for the calibration curves of the hot-wire anemometer under different flow densities. The hot-wire sensor that used in the present study has 5 mm diameter and 1.25 mm length so its aspect ratio is 250

Numerical Prediction of a Bi-Directional Micro Thermal Flow Sensors

Thermal flow sensors such as hot-wire anemometer (HWA) can be used to measure the flow velocity with certain accuracy. However, HWA can measure the flow velocity without determining the flow direction. Pulsed-Wire Anemometer (PWA) with 3 wires can be used to measure flow velocity and flow directions. The present study aims to develop a numerical analysis of unsteady flow around a pulsed hot-wire anemometer using three parallel wires. The pulsed wire which is called the heated wire is located in the middle and the two sensor wires are installed upstream and downstream of the pulsed wire. 2-D numerical models were built and simulated using different wires arrangements. The ratio of the separation distance between the heated wire and sensor wire (x) to the diameter of the heated wire (D) ratios (x/D) was varied between 3.33 and 183.33. The output results are plotted as a function of Peclet number (convection time / diffusion time). It was found that as the ratio of x/D increases, the sensitivity of PWA device to the time of flight decreases. But at the same the reading of the time of flight becomes more accurate, because the effects of the diffusion and wake after the heated wire decrease. Also, a very good agreement has been obtained between the present numerical simulation and the previous experimental data