One-fifth of the population uses it in their homes
Gaza turns to rely more on solar energy in light of power cuts
A fish farm and seafood restaurant on the seashore of Gaza City run on solar energy.
AFP
Solar panel electricity is the perfect choice for medium-sized business owners in order to keep the business going.
AFP
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Yasser Al-Haj, the owner of a fish farm and seafood restaurant on the seashore of Gaza City, relies on solar energy to power his business, which has helped him reduce the cost of electricity.
"Electricity is the backbone of the project, and we rely on it to provide oxygen to the fish, in addition to drawing water and pumping it from the sea," he says, pointing to dozens of dusty solar panels nearby.
Al-Hajj explains, while workers are carrying out rehabilitation work in the restaurant and farm, how he started relying on solar energy to provide electricity for his farm and restaurant years ago, due to frequent power cuts in the besieged sector for 15 years.
He explains, while sweating, "we were paying 150,000 shekels a month (about $44,000), which is a huge burden, on operating expenses, so we were forced to reduce this problem."
The cost fell to 50,000 shekels per month, which provided him with cash that helped him renew his project.
Routine interruption
Power outages are routine for the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, with power cuts reaching more than 12 hours a day, according to United Nations data.
While the residents of the Gaza Strip are increasingly turning to the option of solar energy, which is evidenced by the solar panels spread on the roofs of houses, another section of them depends on buying a line of electricity from the owners of private generators, at a high cost.
energy exchange
This summer, Bishara Shehadeh decided to resort to the option of solar energy to operate his bakery and home, where hundreds of glass solar panels were stacked on its roof, west of Gaza City.
"We have excess electricity during the day, and we sell it to the electric company in return for providing us with current during the night," said Shehadeh, whose voices blared in the street near his house.
The bakery's lights are lit by solar energy, but its ovens still run on diesel.
Amid the hustle and bustle of these machines, Shehadeh explains that he seeks to “import ovens that depend on electric energy from Israel, to save on diesel costs, and to benefit more from solar energy.”
Al-Hajj and Shehadeh relied in part on foreign donors to start the transition to solar energy, in addition to their own money.
Small capitalists have opportunities to make a long-term investment, such as Shehadeh, who resorted to financing his project through a bank loan.
According to the United Nations, 80% of the population of the Gaza Strip depends on humanitarian aid, so not everyone can afford to install renewable energy panels.
A large segment of the population is unable to provide an alternative to electricity, in light of the interruption that continues for more than half the day, although this affects their daily lives, including the ability to pump water to homes.
About one-fifth of Gazans rely on solar energy in their homes, according to estimates published by the International Journal of Energy, Sustainability and Society last April.
facilities
At the Mega Power store that sells solar energy packages in Gaza City, engineer Shehab Hussein says that prices start at about $1,000 per kilowatt of electricity.
Hussein explains that "the solar energy systems for homes range from one kilowatt to five kilowatts, at a cost of about $4,500, which can be paid in installments if 30% of their total value is paid as a down payment."
While standing next to a wall on which brightly colored inverters are used in the solar energy system, Hussein points to the increasing demand for solar energy by business owners, because it is a "viable and economical investment."
He points out that China is a source for importing solar panels that live long, if they are regularly maintained.
He explains that among his store's customers are sewing factories, soft drinks, and a number of owners of private electric generators.
Raya Al-Dadah, head of the Sustainable Energy Technology Laboratory at the University of Birmingham in the UK, says her family in Gaza has been using solar panels for more than 15 years.
"The pipe is very rusty, the glass is broken, but I just took a bath with very hot water," she said during a visit to the Gaza Strip.
She talks about the obstacles she faced when she tried to import a more efficient system to implement her own community project, by providing a women's center and surrounding houses in the Jabalia area, north of Gaza, with energy, saying, "It turned out that it was impossible to bring it to the Gaza Strip."
Modern technologies provide a greater ability to harness solar energy, as well as equipment to track the movement of the sun
But the introduction of these technologies and other goods into the Strip seems impossible, given Israel's blockade of the Strip, which has been going on since 2007, since the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) seized power.
On the other hand, Israeli companies use these modern technologies, including the company "SolarGeek".
The company has equipment capable of harnessing up to 20% more energy than regular panels, according to its CEO, Jill Kreiser.
According to Kreiser, despite the increase in demand for solar energy, "there is a need for better energy storage options in order to use it to completely replace the fuel."
Al-Dadah will have to rely on regular panels to implement her project, but she says solar energy is an option.
80% of the population of the Gaza Strip depends on humanitarian aid, so not everyone can afford to install renewable energy panels.
China is an import source for long-lived solar panels, if regularly maintained.
Power cuts are routine for the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, with blackouts amounting to more than 12 hours a day, according to United Nations data.
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