Noor Palestine Solar Program

PIF launched ‘Noor Palestine Solar Program’ with the aim of generating 200MW of electricity from solar energy, which is the equivalent of 14% of West Bank needs of electricity. The size of this investment program amounts to $200 million dollars. The program involves several components such as solar PV plants and schools’ solar rooftops program for 500 public schools.

Noor Jericho Solar PV Plant

PIF developed Noor Jericho over an area of 86 dunums with a total of 20,000 solar PV panels. The capacity of the plant is 7.5 MW, approximately the equivalent of the consumption rates of 3600 households according to the average annual consumption rate of electricity for households in Palestine.

The plant is operating and has been linked up with JEDCO’s electricity grid. The plant will reduce the electricity imports by a total of NIS 4.5 million Shekels annually, and approximately NIS 112 million Shekels throughout its expected 25-year life span.

PIF sold the plant to the Birzeit Pharmaceutical Company, Istishari Arab Hospital, and the National Bank to meet their electricity needs.

Noor Jenin Solar PV Plant

This plant was constructed over an area of 52 dunums of the town of Kufr Dan in the Jenin governorate with a total of 13,500 solar panels. The investment in the plant is approximately US$ 6 million dollars, with a capacity of 5MW, i.e. the equivalent of consumption of 2,400 households of electricity.

An agreement was signed with the Northern Electricity Distribution Company to sell the plant which was activated and linked with their electricity grid, with direct benefit to the municipalities that fall under the Company’s jurisdiction.

Schools Solar Rooftops Program for 500 public schools

This program is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JEDCO), the Northern Electricity Distribution Company, and the Hebron Electric Power Company to provide 500 public schools with rooftop PV systems over a four-year timeframe. The program aims at generating 35MW of electricity with a total investment of of US$ 35 million dollars. It is expected that the program will contribute towards the reduction of the annual electricity bill of participating schools by US$1.2 million dollars.

PIF succeeded in attracting international organizations to fund the program such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) which contributed with US$18 million dollars and IFC with a total amount of US$ 15 million dollars, in addition to a US$2 million dollar-grant from the World Bank.

Works started during the year 2020 to install PV systems on the rooftops of 120 additional public schools in the Jerusalem, Hebron, Ramallah, and Bethlehem governorates after having completed the installation of similar systems on the rooftops of 30 schools in the first phase.

The Program contributes towards upgrading the quality of the school environment in Palestine by using clean energy on the rooftops of public schools, thus helping to reduce the electricity bill of these schools. Part of the electricity generated by these systems will be used to cover the consumption of these schools, while the remaining quantity will be sold to electricity distribution companies.

Gaza Marine Offshore Natural Gas Field

The Palestinian Natural Gas field, Gaza Marine, is located in the Palestinian coastal area and includes an estimated reserve of 1 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of Natural Gas, approximately 30 billion cubic meters (BCM). The project will be developed to support the national economy, giving priority to meeting the domestic market needs for natural gas that would enable large scale power generation programs in Palestine.

The gas field was discovered in 1999 by British Gas (BG) following a seismic survey and the drilling of two exploration wells. The development of Gaza Marine is considered a central pillar of Palestine’s energy security towards the path to self-sufficiency in power generation, providing a relative degree of energy independence, lessening dependence on imported energy sources and significantly reducing the current trade deficit. Gaza Marine development costs are estimated at $ 1.2 billion dollars.

PIF is focusing on developing the Gas field with its partners, parallel to the international and regional efforts undertaken to overcome the Israeli obstacles to the development of the field to date. In addition to working on finding a global developer as a partner after the relevant Palestinian Cabinet decisions related that approved the exit of British Gas Company owned by Shell Company from the hydrocarbon resources development license agreement. The development company alliance was replaced by a new coalition composed of the existing partners in the agreement; Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) and the Consolidated Contractors Company for Oil and Gas (CCC) and a global developer partner.

Jenin Power Plant

PIF is one of the largest investors in the Palestine Power Generation Company (PPGC), which is the development company for the first large scale power plant in the West Bank, located in Jenin. Jenin Power Plant is gas-fired with a generation capacity of approximately 450 MW. The plant will be developed in two phases through Palestine Power Generation Company (PPGC), which is supported by a leading group of Palestinian investors including Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO), Palestine Telecommunications Company (PalTel), the Arab Bank Group, the Palestine Electric Company, and the Arab Palestinian In- vestment Company (APIC). These investors are joined by other local investors including local banks such as Bank of Palestine, Al Quds Bank, and Cairo-Amman Bank.

A goodwill letter had been signed with the developers of the Palestinian natural gas field in order to provide natural gas to the plant. As projected, the Jenin Power Plant will fulfill approximately 40% of Palestine’s cur- rent total electricity consumption with a total project cost of approximately $650 million dollars.

Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDECO)

PIF invests in JEDCO’s shares given that the company plays a pioneering role in providing Palestinians with electricity in vast areas of Palestine, including in Jerusalem. JEDCO is constantly working on searching for several sources for purchasing electric power, develop the electric power generation capacity from alternative energy sources, particularly solar energy.

Palestinian Electricity Company (Gaza Power Plant)

PIF is one of the founding investors of the Palestinian Electricity Company that owns the power plant in Gaza Strip alongside many financial local companies and institutions. Currently, PIF continues its efforts along with the partners to increase the capacity of the plant by shifting it to operate using natural gas.