The “Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Sources versus Oil Shale in Jordan” project, commissioned by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, examines how Jordanian citizens perceive two key pillars of the country’s future energy mix: renewables (particularly wind and solar) and domestic oil shale. It is set against the backdrop of Jordan’s 2020–2030 National Energy Strategy, which aims to strengthen energy security, reduce dependence on imported fuels (around 91 per cent of energy needs in 2019), and increase the share of local resources by scaling up renewable energy and introducing oil shale-based power generation. With energy prices, tariff increases and large infrastructure projects already the subject of public debate and protest, the project starts from the premise that social acceptance is a critical precondition for any sustainable energy transition.
To situate citizens’ views in context, the project first maps the policy, regulatory and technological landscape of Jordan’s energy sector. It reviews the new energy strategy, the planned trajectories for renewables and oil shale in the national energy mix, and the structure of the electricity system, including existing overcapacity and grid constraints that influence investment decisions. It also analyses the legal framework for Environmental Impact Assessment and Social Impact Assessment as key risk- and participation-governance tools, as well as the roles of the Ministry of Environment and other authorities in licensing and monitoring energy projects. In parallel, it provides an overview of Jordan’s renewable resources and flagship wind and solar projects (notably in Ma’an and Tafileh), and of the country’s substantial oil shale reserves and associated investment agreements and power generation projects in areas such as Attarat and Lajoun.
Building on this foundation, the core of the project is an empirical social survey designed to uncover drivers of local acceptance and opposition to both renewable energy and oil shale infrastructures. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior and wider socio-psychological models, the research uses a structured questionnaire to explore awareness of the technologies and specific projects, perceptions of risks and benefits (environmental, social, technical and economic), expectations of socio-economic impacts such as jobs and electricity prices, trust in different information sources, and views on participation and procedural justice. The survey was carried out in summer 2020 with 200 randomly selected residents from four communities located near existing or planned renewable energy and oil shale projects (Ma’an, Tafileh, Lajoun, Attarat/Um Al-Rasas), using face-to-face interviews in Arabic and balanced samples by age and gender. The resulting data set provides policymakers, developers and civil society with an evidence base to design more responsive communication, participation and project-design strategies that can foster fairer, more widely accepted energy pathways for Jordan.
Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Sources versus Oil Shale in Jordan
