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Israel, US, UAE and Jordan discuss joint solar, water projects

The plan sees the solar farm entering operation by 2026 and producing 2 percent of Israel’s energy by 2030.

An Israeli flag with a view of the Jordan Valley on June 14, 2020. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
An Israeli flag with a view of the Jordan Valley on June 14, 2020. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Israel is in talks with Jordan, the United Emirates and the United States to agree to joint climate projects, Israel’s Energy Ministry announced on Wednesday.

A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that the projects include solar-energy production in Jordan for Israel and desalinated Mediterranean water in Israel for Jordan.

Five Israeli officials told Axios that the plan involves building a massive solar farm in the Jordanian desert to supply energy to Israel and building a desalination plant in Israel to provide water to Jordan.

The deal is expected to be signed next week in Dubai with senior officials from Israel, Jordan and the UAE, and with U.S. climate envoy John Kerry in attendance, according to the report.

The plan sees the solar farm entering operation by the year 2026 and producing 2 percent of Israel’s energy by 2030. Israel would pay $180 million per year to be split between the Jordanian government and the Emirati company, which would build the operation.

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Israel’s foreign minister called it a historic day for ties between the two countries and an important day for the capital.
“I am proud to lead a tremendous revolution in settlement in Judea and Samaria and to effectively kill the idea of a Palestinian state,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told JNS.
“Both sides were talking about the Michigan Senate race, the Shia leadership of Lebanon and the Jewish leadership of Israel,” Sen. James Lankford said.