While all Performance Standards are applicable to this investment, IFCs environmental and social due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with the following Performance Standards. If IFC's investment proceeds, IFC will periodically review the the project’s ongoing compliance with the Performance Standards.

PS 1 – Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts
PS 2 - Labor and working conditions
PS 3 - Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention
PS 4 – Community Health, Safety and Security
PS 6 – Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources
PS 8 – Cultural Heritage

The Project site is located in a remote hilly area with limited vegetation. The distance to the closest residential receptors is about 1.1 to 1.5 km. Given this distance, environmental impacts on affected communities typical to wind power generation (i.e. noise, shadow flicker) are expected to be minimal. The land for the Project will be leased from both the public and private owners, and no economic or physical relocation of people will be needed. The protected Dana Biosphere Reserve is about 4.5km from the Project site. Detailed assessment of the Project’s impacts on biodiversity was conducted as part of the ESIA, in close coordination with key local environmental groups. These groups will also assist the Company to conduct post operational monitoring programs.

The Project has been categorized as Category B according to IFC Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. It has limited potential adverse environmental or social risks. Impacts are expected to be few in number, generally site-specific, largely reversible, and readily addressed through mitigation measures

IFC's appraisal considered the environmental and social management planning process and documentation for the project and gaps, if any, between these and IFCs requirements. Where necessary, corrective measures, intended to close these gaps within a reasonable period of time, are summarized in the paragraphs that follow and (if applicable) in an agreed Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP). Through the implementation of these measures, the project is expected to be designed and operated in accordance with Performance Standards objectives.

Environmental and Social Assessment and Management System:



EP Global Energy (“EPGE”), the lead Project developer, was founded in 2006 with the purpose of developing renewable and conventional energy projects in emerging markets, the Balkans, and the Middle East. The Tafila Wind Project is being developed with full support by EPGE’s management and through JWPC’s E&S Management System (ESMS), in line with IFC Performance Standards. In developing the Project, and in reaching agreement with Vestas (the Project’s key contractor, and responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Project), JWPC’s Environmental and Social Assessment and Management System was established and being strengthened incorporating the following elements summarized below:



Policy:

JWPC’s overarching policy in respect of its environmental and social objectives and principles reflect a commitment to apply “socially responsible business practices throughout each of its projects”. It aims to ensure that its projects “will have a minimal impact on local communities and the environment.”



Identification of Risks and Impacts:

The Company retained CUBE Engineering GmbH (Germany) and REEC – Al-Rawabi Environment & Energy Consultancies (Jordan), (“CUBE/REEC”) to carry out a comprehensive environmental and social impact assessment (“ESIA”) in line with Jordanian Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations and IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability (January 1, 2012). The Company held an ESIA Scoping Meeting in December 2011, and its ESIA Scoping Report was approved by the Jordanian Ministry of Environment (“MoE”) in January 2012. In December 2012, CUBE/REEC completed the ESIA and the Company submitted the ESIA documents to the MoE on December 23, 2012, for review and approval.



Key E&S risks and impacts assessed in the ESIA include biodiversity (flora, fauna, avifauna); geology, hydrology and hydrogeology; noise, shadow flicker, air quality, landscape and visual impacts, cultural heritage and archaeology, traffic and transport; and socio-economic impacts. The ESIA also assessed potential impacts of the Project’s associated facilities (a 33kV/132kV substation, a 250m 132kV connecting transmission line from the substation to the existing NEPCO’s transmission line, and a network of access roads to 38 wind turbine generators), and potential cumulative environmental impacts of the Project and the other potential wind farms in the region (The Fujeij Wind Farm Project is approximately 11.5 km south of the Tafila site).



As part of the ESIA’s alternative site and turbine location, the following principles were followed to minimize potential impacts: avoiding key habitats (both flora and fauna), avoiding areas of archaeological interest, avoiding impacts on residents, and compliance with the overall project design strategy.



Management Programs:

The findings of the ESIA were transferred into measurable objectives t
o be achieved during construction, commissioning, operation and closure of the Project. These objectives, and associated plans are contained in the Environmental and Social Mitigation and Management Plan (“ESMMP”). The ESMMP was developed as a stand-alone document and a supplement to the ESIA. Mitigation measures and monitoring programs for the construction phase addressing biodiversity are presented in the ESMMP for flora (removal of topsoil, collecting wood by workers, habitat destruction, solid and liquid waste, dust) and fauna (noise, light, accidental killing, bat casualties, hunting, solid and liquid waste). Similarly, mitigation measures for the operational phase are presented for flora (solid and liquid waste, destruction of flora) and fauna (displacement and habituation, hunting by workers, accidental killing, disturbance and noise, habitat alteration and fragmentation), avifauna (collisions, electrocution). Similarly, the construction phase and operational phase mitigation and monitoring programs are presented in the ESMMP addressing geology, hydrology and hydrogeology impacts, noise, shadow flicker, air quality, cultural heritage and archaeology, traffic and transport, and socio-economic impacts.



Organizational Capacity and Competency:

Vestas will design, build, operate and maintain the Project. During the construction phase, Vestas will mobilize up to 115 people for construction management, engineering, erection works, construction works, support and security, and commissioning works. During the operational phase, up to 24 people will be mobilized for technical operation, commercial operation, maintenance works, support and security. In both phases, both the Company and Vestas will assign officers to take responsibility for the environment, health and safety and ongoing stakeholder engagement activities. Furthermore, the Company, in partnership with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, will carry out post-operational biodiversity monitoring activities, environmental awareness programs and local infrastructure improvement projects.



Emergency Preparedness and Response:

In line with Vestas health and safety management practices, the Project will have its emergency response plan for the sites, for both the construction and operational phases. Vestas’s health, safety and environment manager will ensure that visitors, employees, subcontractors and other relevant co-operation partners are fully informed of the emergency response plan. As part of the ESMMP, emergency procedures are systematically managed by the Company as part of the Project’s document management system, and a training program will be provided to the employees of the Company and Vestas so that they can respond to emergency situations in a safe and effective manner.



Monitoring and Review:

The ESMMP presents the roles and responsibilities of the Company employees and Vestas employees in E&S monitoring activities. Audit activities will be
organized among EPGE, the Company and Vestas. Audits will be conducted at agreed intervals (i.e. monthly, weekly, daily, random), and the results of audits will be compared over time to gauge improvement rates.

Working Conditions and Management of Worker Relationship:

The Project is estimated to create up to 115 (construction phase) and 24 (operational phase) employment opportunities. During the construction phase, about 50 employments opportunities for local residents are expected to be available. During the operational phase, the Company aims to provide employment opportunities to local people to the extent possible. Vestas will be the Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management and Operation contractor for the Project. Vestas’s human resources policies and health and safety procedures will be applied for the Project. Vestas maintains a framework of fair and just remuneration and fair working conditions, and respects freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining for Vestas employees, according to the laws or practices of the countries in which it operates. Vestas will apply its own HR requirements to subcontractors as well. The Company will monitor Vestas’s performance in this area, including its consistency with the Sponsors’ human resources policies.



Protecting the Work Force:

The Company and Vestas will not employ children or forced labor for the Project.



Occupational Health and Safety:

Vestas has a detailed safety manual for operation of the V112 turbine. The manual includes organization of safety-related work (safety meetings, planning of work); safety training requirements (general, employees working at height; employees working with electricity at high voltage); training on-site (including for visitors and all types of employees, subcontractors and other relevant co-operation partners); safety inspection on construction site; safety alerts; risk assessment; communication; personal safety (two person teams, restriction on working alone in the turbine); considerations in respect of weather conditions (wind speed, working in cold and freezing conditions, working at high temperature conditions, working in sunny conditions, thunder storms and lighting). The Company will monitor and audit the health and safety performance of Vestas regularly.

Resource Efficiency:

Jordan is highly dependent on imported fossil fuel. The country has a grid average Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission factor of 578 gCO2/kWh (2008-2010 average). The Project will be Jordan’s first grid-tied renewable energy project. It is expected to generate 388GWh of electricity per year, with estimated GHG reduction effect of about 224,000 ton CO2 per year.



Pollution Prevention:

Noise: The turbines closest to residential areas are about 1.5 km from the east of Gharandil Town and about 1.1 km from a small settlement belonging to the existing LaFarge Rashidiya cement plant. Due to sufficient distance of the wind turbines to the nearest dwellings and based on the detailed noise prediction modeling results, the ESIA concludes that the Project’s operational noise impacts are low and remain below Jordanian limits and IFC/WBG ambient noise guideline limits.



Shadow flicker: The ESIA assessed the Project’s impacts of shadow flicker for the closest receptors to the Project site using the shadow flicker guideline limits of Germany - accumulated exposure on residential properties should not exceed 30 hours per year or 30 minutes per day. The ESIA concludes that the limits will not be exceeded. With regard to the semi-nomadic people who temporarily stay in the Project area during agricultural activities of the year, the Company will post shadow flicker boards to inform them of the most affected areas so that they can consider setting up temporary tents at less impacted areas.



Landscape and visual impact: The ESIA evaluated the landscape and visual amenity changes that will occur as a result of the Project. The layout of the wind farm was designed to have a minimum visual and landscape impacts. The impacts on surrounding villages are judged as not significant as the turbines will only partly be seen. Turbines will not be visible from the Dana Biosphere Reserve.

Community Health and Safety:

During the construction phase of the Project, Vestas will establish an unarmed security team on site to ensure that possibilities for access to site facilities by third parties are limited to the extent possible. A Health, Safety and Environment Plan will be implemented to minimize health and safety risks to the surrounding communities. To minimize health and safety risks of the community members, the Company plans to implement the following measures: fencing and guarding of the substation area, assigning unarmed security personnel in the wind farm area, establishing clear signals in hazardous construction areas, placing of warning tapes around dangerous areas (such as excavation areas), and securing of areas where dangerous activities are performed (such as turbine erection activities). Security personnel will be trained to minimize potential conflicts with Project affected communities.

Protection and Conservation of Biodiversity:

As part of the ESIA, independent expert consultants reviewed the flora and fauna, with special emphasis on avifauna, due to the relatively close proximity of the Project site with Dana Biosphere Reserve (4.3km from the Project site) and the Dana Important Bird Area (of which the eastern border marginally overlaps with the western edge of the Project area). A baseline biodiversity study was conducted for one full year (October 2011 to September 2012) covering spring and autumn migratory seasons.



The conclusions of the ESIA are:

- Although the vicinity of the Project site is rich in resident birds and migrant passerines, few raptors were recorded during the baseline study. The absence of raptors is explained due to high disturbance from urban expansion, farming, illegal hunting and overgrazing.

- The vegetation on the Project site is scarce and cannot be regarded as an adequate feeding ground. The wadis in the surrounding areas attract more migratory birds, especially soaring birds such as eagles and buzzards.

- During the field baseline survey for the biodiversity study, few migratory birds were seen flying over the Project site. Routes adjacent to the Project site seem to be the major passage.

- Bats were recorded in the past. However the caves that were examined did not show any bat activities. Human persecution and cave burning may be the reason for this.

- One recorded reptile (the European Chameleon – chamaeleo chamaeleon) is endangered in Jordan. Probably due to disturbance by local farmers and shepherds their number is not high.

- The collision risk calculated for birds is negligible. Depending on the species, size and the speed of the bird, between 0.79 (Lesser Kestrel) and 42.28 (Swift) birds might collide in 20 years of operation.



Detailed mitigation measures were proposed in the ESIA and the ESMMP. Key proposed mitigation measures to minimize avifauna impacts include:

- Reduction of the Project footprint as much as possible to minimize habitat loss for resident birds.

- Wind farm layout with least impact on known avifauna flight paths.

- Painting of the blades with visible colors.

- Conducting periodic bird monitoring through the project lifetime to analyze impacts of the wind farm on the avifauna.



The Royal Society for Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International were consulted on several occasions in 2012 as part of the ESIA process. Most recently, in December 2012 detailed technical consultation meetings were held on the result of the ESIA, particularly on biodiversity (baseline results, analysis and suggested mitigation measures). Both organizations have been working with the Company to provide expertise and suggestions. Further comments or suggestions on proposed mitigation measures may be provided during the ESIA review process being conducted by the Jordanian Ministry of Environment.



The Company agreed with the Royal Society for the Cons
ervation of Nature (“RSCN”) to jointly conduct post operational biodiversity monitoring program throughout the Project lifetime. Any impacts observed during monitoring will be evaluated and if necessary, adequate further mitigation measures will be implemented. Monitoring programs addressing avifauna aspects suggested in the ESIA include monitoring accidental death of bird species by turbines, traffic and hunting during the construction and operational phases of the Project, monitoring migration routes of birds on the Project site and in the surrounding Wadis Dana, Fujeij and Khanizira Bin Hammad. Through the agreed partnership with RSCN, more detailed monitoring plans, including specific methodologies, parameters, and frequency, will be formulated for implementation.

In general, the Project area is rich in historical artifacts. The archaeological impact assessment, including baseline survey, was conducted by representatives from the Jordan Department of Antiquities supported by specialists from REEC. Through the ESIA process, a number of archaeological sites were avoided, and roads or turbines were relocated. Alternative locations were proposed for 14 turbines and their locations were shifted. Out of which, two turbines were completed relocated to different parts of the farm area. The key mitigation measures of the ESMMP include identification of sensitive areas to contractors; keeping vehicles on the construction site and on the access roads; avoidance of known sensitive areas (already incorporated during the design optimization process); oversight during excavation by archaeological experts; and preparation and implementation of chance-find procedures in line with IFC Performance Standard 8. As part of the ESMMP, the Company will conduct regular audits of mitigation measures, including monitoring of any chance-find archaeological remains during the construction phase, in order to mitigate impacts on archaeological artifacts.

Stakeholder Engagement:
A Stakeholder Engagement Plan (December 2012) was prepared as part of the ESIA, to summarize the stakeholder engagement activities so far conducted; to identify stakeholders (affected communities, land owners, semi-nomadic people, Non-governmental organizations, and regulatory authorities); and to present ongoing stakeholder engagement activities and procedures for information disclosure, setting of resources and responsibilities, and grievance mechanism.

The Company has conducted the following stakeholder engagement activities:
- October 2011: Consultation with local residents in Gharandil, and BirdLife International about the flora and fauna species and their usage by locals and hunting activities.
- December 5, 2011: An ESIA scoping session was held in Amman, attended by NGOs, national and international stakeholders, and ministerial representatives. A scoping report was prepared and approved by the Ministry of Environment on January 8, 2012. The report identified key environmental issues to be assessed in the ESIA, key stakeholders and the terms of the reference for the EISA.
- January 2012: A meeting was held with BirdLife International, an NGO who attended the scoping session, to discuss further cooperation in the Project.
- April – September, 2012: Consultation meetings with local residents from Dana, Tafila Archaeology Department, Department of Antiquities, and Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (“RSCN”).
October 2012: Lender meetings including with the Dana Biosphere Reserve, RSCN and BirdInternational.
- November 12, 2012: An ESIA public consultation meeting was held at the Dana Biosphere Reserve Visitor Center. Participants included not only residents from the town of Gharandil, but also some of the semi-nomadic people who choose to live reside seasonally in the tents in the Project area.
- October – December 2012: The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International were consulted to comment on mitigation and avoidance measures set out in the biodiversity chapter of the ESIA.
Key E&S issues identified during the above listed consultation activities include: Project land lease arrangement and access to the land after the Project development; environmental mitigation measures (dust, noise, traffic accident); the effect of underground cables, and shadow flicker; supplies that the Company will be bringing in; phases of the ESIA process and public consultation; local economic benefit and employment opportunities; and biodiversity impacts. The Company responded to each item, explaining the mitigation measures being proposed to mitigate potential negative impacts, and the Company’s programs to address concerns raised and to enhance benefits of the Project to local communities.

The ESIA identified that semi-nomadic people are using the Project site during limited number of months per year. As noted above, the Company’s consultations included these groups, and the Project design includes appropriate mitigation measures to address potential impacts.

The Company will continue to conduct ongoing stakeholder engagement activities in line with the Stakeholder Engagement Plan, and implement partnership programs with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (“RSCN”) which is Jordan’s foremost environment and sustainability organization, and is operator of the Dana Biosphere Reserve. The partnership programs include a post-operational biodiversity monitoring program, establishment and operation of the Environmental Awareness Center at the Dana Biosphere Reserve for school children and a Tafila Wind Farm Visitor Center, and infrastructure improvement support for local schools local municipalities.

The following ESIA documents were submitted to the Jordanian Ministry of Environment on December 23, 2012.
- Tafila Wind Energy Project, Tafila Governorate (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), Executive Summary, 20th of December, 2012
- Tafila Wind Energy Project, Tafila Governorate (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), Final Report of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study (ESIA), 20th of December, 2012
- Tafila Wind Energy Project, Tafila Governorate (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), Figures – Final Report of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study (ESIA), 20th of December, 2012
- Tafila Wind Energy Project, Tafila Governorate (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF), 20th of December 2012
- Tafila Wind Energy Project, Tafila Governorate (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), 20th of December 2012
- Tafila Wind energy Project, Tafila Governorate (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), Environmental and Social Mitigation and Management Plan (ESMMP), 20th of December, 2012

The same set of the above listed documents are available at the following places:
http://www.epge.com (or http://www.epge.com/jordan/php#tafila)
http://www.jordanwind.com
Dana Biosphere Reserve Visitor Centre , Tafila (Reserve Manager: Amer Al-Rfou’, Tel: +962 3 2270497/8).

Also, this ESRS has attachments of the above listed ESIA documents.
Further information can be provided by:
Name: Sean Miller
Title: Project Manager, JWPC
Address: 14 Abdel Hameed Badees St. #2, Amman, Jordan, 11194
Tel: +962 797 322 311.
Email: mailto:smiller@jordanwind.com

Broad Community Support is not applicable for this project

Current client performance is aligned with applicable Performance Standards and EHS Guideline requirements.
No E & S Action Plan is required.