Photovoltaic solar installations on 500 schools in the West Bank and East Jerusalem will produce 35 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 16,000 homes, under a US$18-million loan agreement between the European Investment Bank and the Palestine Investment Fund.
“PIF aims at contributing to laying the foundation for an innovative, sustainable, and knowledge-based Palestinian economy,” said Board Chair Dr. Mohammad Mustafa. “We are proud of this agreement and aspire that this would be the start for a strong and solid cooperation between PIF and EIB.”
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“The agreement will help to harness the energy from the sun to power houses as well as schools,” said EIB Vice President Emma Navarro. “This will improve the availability of electricity supply in the West Bank,” serving the bank’s objective of “improving living conditions of Palestinian residents and improving infrastructure for business.”
The project design “supports the economic resilience of Palestine through a long-term investment in decentralized energy systems, and contributes to a reduced reliance on electricity imports,” Renewable Energy Magazine reports. “It will result in relative emissions savings estimated at 31,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per annum, based on the avoidance of electricity generation from existing and new thermal plants.”
