ARABIA ONE SOLAR PV POWER PLANT PROJECT (10MW) ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (ESIA) 1 October 2014 REV - 1 Final ESIA – Arabia One Solar PV Power Plant Project Document title Arabia One Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Status REV- 1 Date 1 October 2014 Client Arabia One for Clean Energy Investments PSC REVISION RECORD Rev. Created By Internal Date Submission Reviewed By Date No. Review By Status Rev 0 Ibrahim Masri Ra’ed Daoud 24 July 2014 Draft Rev 1 Ibrahim Masri Ra’ed Daoud 1 Oct 2014 Final Page | i Final ESIA – Arabia One Solar PV Power Plant Project CONTACTS ECO Consult Physical Address: ECO Consult Jude Centre, 4th floor, Building #1 Salem Hindawi Street Shmeisani Amman Jordan Mailing Address: ECO Consult PO Box 941400 Amman 11194 Jordan Tel: +962 6 569 9769 Fax: + 962 6 569 7264 Email: [email protected] Contact Persons: Ra’ed Daoud Managing Director - ECO Consult E: [email protected] Ibrahim Masri Project Manager – ECO Consult E: [email protected] Page | ii Final ESIA – Arabia One Solar PV Power Plant Project TABLE OF CONTENT Table of Content .................................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................................... vii Abbreviations & Acronyms .................................................................................................................................... ix 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Project Background ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Project Location & Setting ...................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report .......................................................... 2 1.4 Document Structure ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Project Proponent & Key Contributors ................................................................................................... 4 2. Project Description ..................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Administrative Setup of Project Location ............................................................................................... 5 2.2 Project Location ...................................................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Outline of Photovoltaic (PV) Technology ................................................................................................ 8 2.4 Project Components ............................................................................................................................... 8 2.5 Land Take Requirements & Land Use Context ..................................................................................... 10 2.6 Workforce & Training ........................................................................................................................... 12 2.7 Overview of Project Phases .................................................................................................................. 12 2.8 Resource Use Efficiency ........................................................................................................................ 14 3. Regulatory & Policy Framework ............................................................................................................... 15 3.1 Jordanian Environmental Clearance Process ........................................................................................ 15 3.2 Summary of Jordanian Environmental & Social Regulatory Context ................................................... 16 3.3 Jordanian Institutional Set-up ............................................................................................................... 18 3.4 International Agreements ..................................................................................................................... 19 3.5 Requirements for Project Financing ..................................................................................................... 21 4. ESIA Approach & Methodology ................................................................................................................ 24 4.1 Screening, Scoping & Assessment ........................................................................................................ 24 4.2 Analysis of Alternatives ......................................................................................................................... 24 4.3 Stakeholder Engagement ...................................................................................................................... 25 4.4 Delineation of Study Boundaries and Scope of Assessment ................................................................ 26 4.5 Environment & Social Baseline Conditions ........................................................................................... 28 4.6 Impact Assessment Methodology ........................................................................................................ 28 4.7 Assessment of Cumulative Impacts ...................................................................................................... 31 4.8 Development of an Environmental and Social Management (ESMP) Plan .......................................... 31 5. Project Justification and Alternatives ....................................................................................................... 32 5.1 Application of Mitigation Hierarchy ..................................................................................................... 32 5.2 Site Selection Alternatives .................................................................................................................... 33 5.3 Technological Alternatives .................................................................................................................... 35 Page | iii Final ESIA – Arabia One Solar PV Power Plant Project 5.4 Project Design Alternatives ................................................................................................................... 36 5.5 The ‘No Project’ Alternative ................................................................................................................. 36 6. Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement ............................................................................................. 38 6.1 Objectives ............................................................................................................................................. 38 6.2 Requirements & Policy Requirements for Stakeholder Engagement ................................................... 38 6.3 Stakeholder Identification & Analysis ................................................................................................... 39 6.4 Stakeholder Consultation & Engagement To-date ............................................................................... 43 6.5 Future Stakeholder Engagement & Consultation ................................................................................. 52 7. Envrionmental and Social Baseline Conditions ......................................................................................... 54 7.1 Landscape and Visual Characteristics ................................................................................................... 55 7.2 Land Use................................................................................................................................................ 57 7.3 Geology, Hydrogeology, and Hydrology ............................................................................................... 67 7.4 Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 71 7.5 Archeology & Cultural Heritage ............................................................................................................ 78 7.6 Air Quality and Noise ............................................................................................................................ 82 7.7 Infrastructure and Utilities ................................................................................................................... 88 7.8 Socio-Economic Conditions .................................................................................................................. 99 8. Assessment of Environmental and Social Impacts ................................................................................. 107 8.1 Overview of the Strategic Environmental and Economical Impacts .................................................. 107 8.2 Landscape and Visual .........................................................................................................................