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During
a mission to Germany October 10-17, 1998, the PEA and VEW signed a mutual
agreement to execute pilot projects in the field of renewable energy;
particularly solar and wind energy. One
pilot project is to select a village or two with 20-50 houses in order to be
supplied with electricity using photovoltaic cells and wind generators.
If proven feasible,
The
PEA participated in the workshop organized by the Moroccan Energy and Materials
Ministry, which was held during October 26-30, 1998. The workshop was entitled “Sustainable Energy in the Arab
Countries: Decentralized Rural Electricity workshop”. The PEA presented a paper about the electrical energy status
in Palestine focusing on the renewable energy field. An initial mutual cooperation between the PEA and the United
Nations representative was reached in to support renewable energy projects in
Palestine. International
Relations of the PEA
In
order to benefit from the prolonged experience of Arab and foreign countries in
the fields of traditional and renewable energy applications, the PEA was
determined to strengthen its international ties to establish an independent
solid Palestinian energy sector that would be capable of meeting the growing
demands of the Palestinian people on energy. Since its creation, it has
initiated direct linkages on the following scales: I-The
Arabic Scale
From the
importance of including Palestine with its Arabic surroundings, the PEA was
devoted to participating in all activities related to energy field in order to
maximize the bilateral benefit amongst them. A summary of the PEA’s
relations is as follows: The Arab Ministers Council Concerned with
Electrical Issues The PEA
represented the PNA in the Arab Ministers Council Concerned with Electrical
Issues. The task of the council is to promote experience exchange, data
collection and dissemination, and unification of the technical terms,
specifications and standards. The PEA has initiated direct linkages with the
Council’s sub committees. The Arab Union for Electricity Producers,
transmitters and distributors This
union plays a dominant role towards development of electricity sector in the
Arab World. One of its most important activities currently under
implementation is the preparation of an electrical grid map in order to
interconnect regionally the Arab countries in the near future. The sub
committees of the union is responsible for the coordination and development of
the various activities in the fields of generation, transmission and
distribution in addition to the development of the different capacity building
programs and manufacturing. The PEA is a full member in the union since
May 12, 1997 and recently became a member in the board of directors of the
union. The
Arab Permanent Committee for Renewable Energy The PEA
participates as a representative of the PNA in the specialized committees of the
energy sector which duties are to concentrate on cooperation of Arab states in
conserving energy, utilizing and applying the renewable energy state of art. The
Economic Social Committee for Arab Countries in West Asia (ESCWA) The PEA
participates as a member in the energy committee of the ESCWA. The other
members of the committee are Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. The committee focuses
on the issues of regional interconnection, privatization of the electrical
energy sector, conservation of energy, and enhancement of the services to the
consumers. Arab
Republic of Egypt Many
meetings between PEA and similar energy bodies in Egypt were held to discuss the
cooperation in the field of energy sector development in Palestine, the
extension of the Egyptian Natural Gas pipeline project to supply the planned
power plant in the Gaza Governorates, and the building of the regional
transmission network. The Egyptian Ministry of electricity provided the PEA with
capacity building programs in various disciplines. The
Kingdom of Jordan The
cooperation with Jordanian Energy institutions was unique in its nature.
The PEA signed a bilateral letter of understanding with the Jordanian National
Electricity Company on November 1, 1995 which aims to exchange expertise
in the fields of design, execution, operation, and maintenance of generation,
transmission, and distribution electrical projects. Additionally, the PEA
was keen on focusing on renewable energy utilization in electricity generation.
It thus signed a contract with the Royal Scientific Society to supply the PEA
with two wind turbines used for water pumping. Moreover, four
training programs targeted at the technicians and engineers of PEA were held in
Jordan. II- On the Foreign
Scale
The PEA
contacted many foreign countries searching for funding regarding the emergency
projects related to the energy sector rehabilitation and development. The
following destinations are sincerely thanked for their contribution towards
helping the PEA in its short, medium and long-term projections. The
Government of Norway Norway is considered the largest of the donor countries to provide help and support to PEA in its rehabilitation projects of the energy sector in the Palestinian Territories. Not only did Norway has offered approximately 23 million USD to fund the rehabilitation of the electrical grid in the Gaza Governorates, but also provided 24 Million USD towards the rehabilitation of the electrical network in the North Governorates as well. The
European Union One of the most important fields in the planning for the energy sector is the policy formulation and institutional setup. The EU has been working closely with the PEA in order to coordinate efforts to layout a fundamental and solid basis for the energy sector on the policy level. Additionally, the PEA became a member in many Mediterranean European committees concerned with energy issues. The
European Investment Bank (EIB) The EIB was committed to providing 38 million USD as easy loans to fund electric grid rehabilitation projects in mid and south regions of the North Governorates. The
World Bank The World
Bank financed the master plan study for the electrical energy sector in
Palestine that was prepared by Rust Kenedy and Donken Company in 1995. The
study covers all components of the electric system (generation, transmission,
and distribution) including the rehabilitation projects for the North and South
Governorates. The World Bank is committed to offering 15 million USD as an
easy loan towards the rehabilitation projects in the Palestinian Territories. Ireland The
Electricity Supply Board International (ESBI) offered management and technical
training programs. The project consisted of group training in Palestine
and Ireland. It was approximately presented to forty PEA managers and
engineers. Belgium The Belgium government is committed to donating 7.5 million USD to finance the electrification of about 30 villages in north the West Bank. It has also promised to supply Nablus with distribution transformers summing to 400,000 USD. Italy The Government of Italy was committed to 24 million USD as a loan to finance the project for rehabilitation of electric network in mid and south the North Governorates. Sweden Initially, SIDA was committed to offering 30 million USD to finance the high voltage transmission lines project to be built in the South Governorates. Japan The
Japanese government through JAYKAI institute financed four training courses to
the engineers and technical staff of the PEA and the municipalities
in the North and South Governorates. The training courses were held in
Jordan. The Government of Japan is also involved in assessing a study to
supply electricity used for domestic appliances to a group of villages in the
North Governorates (YA’BAD PROJECT). In addition, it studies the
potential of taking part in the rehabilitation of the electric grid in the South
Governorates. France The
French government promised to fund a project whose
aim is to lighting nine (9) villages in the Qalqilia area (north of the West
Bank) totaling to 2.5 million USD. Germany The
German government studies the possibility of establishing a power plant in south
of the West Bank Canada The
Canadian government studies the feasibility of building a power plant in north
of the West Bank. A report was submitted recently to the PEA for
assessment. Czeck The Czeck
government is financing the first three stages of four stages constituting a
project to electrify 25 villages in Tobas, the West Bank totaling to 4.5 million
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E-Mail : pea@palnet.com
Main Office PEA. : Gaza -P.O Box 3041/ Tel: 972-7-2821702 , Fax : 972-7-2824849 Al-Bireh-P.O. Box:3591 / Tel: 972-2- 2986190/2 , Fax:972-2-2986191
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