Ferrostaal Inaugurates First Palestinian Solar Thermal Plant

December 2, 2009 – Vol.14 No.37

Ferrostaal Inaugurates First Palestinian Solar Thermal Plant.

The first solar thermal plant for warm water supply and central heating on Palestinian territory is now in operation near Beit Jala.

The solar plant was a donation made by Ferrostaal to a Palestinian school with an excellent regional reputation for its multi-religious pupil body and the equal opportunity education of girls and boys. The plant has a total collector surface of over 200 square metres (over 2100 square feet).

The installation of the solar plant came with the help of the Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) – the German Energy Agency – within the framework of the dena Solar Roofs Programme for Foreign Market Development with support of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi).

High utility costs of about 80,000 EUR (over $120,000) per year have put a great burden on the budget of the school, which relies on financial contributions. The utility expenses will now be decreased by the new solar plant to a large extent. About 21,000 litres (more than 5500 gallons) of diesel fuel, which were required before for water heating, are about to be saved. The clean solar energy lowers CO2 emissions by 57,000 kilograms every year, roughly equal to the emissions of 24 middle-class passenger cars with an annual mileage of 15,000 kilometres (more than 9000 miles) each year.

With the donation, Ferrostaal is presenting its solar power business in a social context in the Middle East. The plant in Palestine is meant to symbolically serve as a demonstration and encourage further solar projects in the region. Aside from the immediate support for the school, the project underlines the industrial potentials for solar energy generation in the whole Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Ferrostaal AG, of Essen, Germany, is a global provider of industrial services in plant construction and engineering.

Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) – the German Energy Agency – is the German competence centre for energy efficiency and renewable energies.

The dena Solar Roofs Programme provides a framework for the planning and installation of solar thermal energy and photovoltaic power systems in promising foreign markets, often at German international schools or Goethe-Institutes. The initiative delivers training programs, public relations and marketing efforts to accompany these installations. The goal of these ‘beacon projects’ is to demonstrate the high quality of German renewable energy products and systems. (11/30/09)

Links:

Ferrostaal
http://www.ferrostaal.com

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