- Title: GAZA: Gazans use solar energy to beat power outages
- Date: 29th September 2013
- Summary: GAZA CITY, GAZA (RECENT) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF COMPANY THAT SELLS SOLAR PANELS SIGN READING (Arabic): 'SHAMS AL-NAHAR (SUN OF THE DAY) FOR SOLAR POWER PANELS' VARIOUS OF SOLAR PANELS INSIDE BUILDING VARIOUS OF ELECTRICIANS PREPARING SOLAR POWER UNIT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SOLAR PANEL COMPANY OWNER, MALIK SAWALHI, SAYING: "Getting electricity from solar power is cheaper tha
- Embargoed: 14th October 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Gaza
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Environment,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVABQ1GSYHHHYVQUWJ0V370SYF8V
- Story Text: Fed up with the regular power cuts, Gaza's residents are now turning to new forms of energy to keep their homes running.
The territory's traditional power supplies may be depleted, but the year-round sunshine may provide a solution for Gaza's energy needs.
"Getting electricity from solar power is cheaper than from a generator. A generator can become useless if no fuel comes into it. We moved to work with solar power to help our Palestinian nation and to provide people with electricity and it is a great idea amid the ongoing siege," said Malik Sawalhi, who runs a business selling solar panels.
Gaza has been struggling with a shortage of electricity that has worsened since July, when the Egyptian military began a crackdown on tunnels used to smuggle goods in from Egypt.
Gaza's local power company has warned that households will receive only eight hours of electricity a day for the foreseeable future.
But for those who can afford it, the sun's energy could help power the average home for several hours.
"It depends on how they will use it. For example, if they turn on the television, a laptop, a fan and lights in a 100-200 square metre home, they will have enough electricity for eight hours," said electrician Mohammed al-Najar.
Each panel costs 1000 Israeli shekels (around 278 US dollars), Sawalhi says, and each house needs between three and six of them.
The panels, which are imported from China, Germany and Canada, were smuggled into Gaza through the tunnels. But since Egypt's shutdown, solar energy companies say they fear they will soon run out.
One man who has managed to have solar panels fitted to the roof of his home is Nabil Ibrahim. He says they are a huge improvement on the traditional generators.
"There are people who use generators and we used to use them, but now we have moved to use solar power. The sun is free and it gives power. Secondly, the generators are noisy and as the electricity cuts out in the middle of the night, in the hours between 12-6 am, it is impossible to run the generator because it is noisy and people will be sleeping. But with solar power, we can use it without making any noise, which is an advantage for solar power. Also, fuel is not available always, we are under a siege and there is a fuel shortage and most people are moving from generators to solar power," he said.
Gaza's precarious energy supply is bad at the best of times, with a rickety infrastructure system badly degraded during fighting between Israel and Hamas over the past six years. The territory's power plant suffered severe damage during Israeli attacks on the territory in 2006 and 2008.
In the past, trucks used to arrive on the Egyptian side of the border and pump fuel through pipes in the tunnels that lead into Gaza.
But since Egypt's crackdown in July, Hamas, which administers public services for Gaza's population of 1.7 million, has appealed to Cairo to restart delivery of the Qatar-sourced fuel, so power plants can resume full operation.
In the meantime, the Palestinian Energy Authority says more funding needs to be found to help develop alternative sources of energy.
"The use of solar power by the residents depends on its high price (for the unit) and on how urgently they need it. As this technology is new in the Gaza Strip, it is expensive and faces many obstacles. We in the Energy Authority are supporting these projects and we call on organisations in the private sector to fund this strategy as a way of tackling the power shortages that the Gaza Strip suffers from," said spokesman, Ahmad Abu Amarin.
Israel does allow fuel to be imported into Gaza, but the amounts are limited and are used only for vehicles, not for electricity stations.
Gaza's residents say the shortages have led to significant price increases.
"We used to buy (fuel) for 50 shekels (13.8 US dollars). Now, we buy it for 160-170 shekels (44.5-47.2 US dollars). So we don't use the generator any more because the fuel is so expensive," said shop keeper, Karam Besais.
The Gaza Strip only has one power station, which supplies the Palestinian enclave with up to two-thirds of its energy needs.
Israel provides the Mediterranean territory with at least 35 percent of its energy needs, but closed off its own fuel pipeline into the enclave in January 2010. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None