Solar Power Spreads To Har Gilo Settlement in the West Bank

Due to political constraints West Bank settlements will pay more for solar energy.

Residents of the Har Gilo settlement in the Guzh Etzion settlement block just south of Jerusalem might not be considered part of Israel by some. But we all know that nature does not care for political borders, and in this case, neither does green technology. The Israeli business daily Globes is reporting that Friendly Energy, an Israeli company that installs photovoltaic technology, has installed two 4 kilowatt solar installations that will supply electricity to the public power firm Israel Electric Company under a 20 year contract that will pay 54 cents per kilowatt hour. The higher price for the power is due to a complicated legal situation that has kept the residents of the West Bank outside the Israeli solar power market, which operates under a Building and Planning Law known as the Electricity Law.

While most of the West Bank is controlled by Israel, it is not a part of Israel and is therefore run by a Civil Administration that acts as de facto government over the region; hence the new power plants could only be built after receiving a special permit from the Civil Administration.

The complicated legal framework does not, however, seem to have dampened the spirit of Friendly Energy CEO Danny Denan, who told Globes that his firm would soon install an additional two facilities in settlements in other parts of the West Bank.  He added that the firm has a backlog of 30 photovoltaic installations across Israel with a total production capability of 1.5 megawatt and worth $.5.5 million.

A green coexistence?

While the project by Friendly Energy might be appear to be an Israeli settlement set up, we have previously covered several cleantech projects where Israelis and Palestinian cooperate, perhaps leading the way for a new type of coexistence.

::Globes

Photo via david55king

More on green projects in the West Bank:
Palestinian and Israeli Researchers Get Reverse Osmosis Water Grant
Global Post Names Ramallah’s Khaled Al Sabawi One Of World’s Top Energy Entrepreneurs
Palestinian and Israeli Wind Companies Create Energy Venture for Peace