How this solar energy project will meet Palestinians’ electricity needs
A solar panel array in the West Bank
reports in Al-Monitor:
The director of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), Mohammed Mustafa, announced Oct. 28 the start of construction of several solar energy power generation stations in Palestinian governorates, including in Jenin.
In statements to the official Palestinian station, Voice of Palestine, Mustafa added that a station in Jericho has been completed and is ready to start operating.
These stations come as part of a project that aims to build solar energy power stations in Jenin, Tubas and Jericho, to meet local electricity needs — most of which is imported from Israel, Jordan and Egypt. The PIF first proposed the Noor Palestine project back in 2016, which is expected to be completed by 2026 at a total cost of $200 million, producing up to 200 megawatts, i.e., 17% of the energy needs of Palestinians. The latter consumes around 1,300 megawatts per day: 850 in the West Bank and 450 in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, some 89% of this amount is imported from Israel.
In May 2019, the PIF had announced that a solar energy power station has been successfully built in Jericho, as part of the Noor Palestine’s first phase. The Jericho station has a production capacity of 7.5 megawatts produced by 20,000 solar panels over a surface area of 100,000 square meters.