The event included an overvire of the different activities performed at An Najah University within Med-EcoSuRe, including the implementation of Photovoltaic power plants on the roof of the university buildings. So far a capacity 220 kW of solar panels have been installed and 55 kW are under construction.

Dr. Imad Ibrik, Med-EcoSuRe project local coordinator in Palestine, welcomed the participants and thanked them for their participation. Dr. Ibrik mentioned that the seminar aimed to highlight and share the impact (Technically and Financially ) of  implementing renewable energy technologies on the roof-top of An-Najah University buildings. He also discussed the most important outcomes of the work done at ANNU through ENI CBC-MED MedEcoSuRe project.

In the first session, Dr. Ines Khalifa , project coordinator from Mediterranean Renewable Energy Centre – Tunisia,  briefed the participants about Med-EcoSuRe Project's objectives, findings, and main achivemnets.

The second session included a presentation about the renewable energy Strategy in Palestine, delivered by the key invited speaker: Eng. Basel Yasin, director of RE and Environment Unit at the Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority” PENRA”. Eng. Yasin talked in his presentation about the energy situation and the renewable energy assessment in Palestine.

The third session included a presentation given by the key speaker from the Palestinian Electricity Regulatory Council “PERC”, Eng. Baha’a Majadleh who talked about the solar energy laws and regulations in Palestine. Also, he presented the electricity market structure, and Renewable Energy Programs in Palestine.

In the fourth session, Dr. Ibrik presented the ERC activities and achivements through Med-EcoSuRe, focusing on the performed energy audits at universiry builidings, and the Photovoltaic solar power plants installed on the roof top of different buildings at An-Najah National University, with a total capacity of 220 kW, and 55 KW under construction. Furthermore, he presented the techno-economic assessment of on-grid PV system, and discussed the technical and economic metrics modelling, mentioning that using appropriate performance parameters facilitates the assessment of energy efficiency of PV systems connected to the grid which can be affected by design, technology used or geographic location.

These results will be useful in identifying solar PV technologies that are appropriate for Palestine, and providing vital information to policy makers and other universities  about the performance and feasibility of installing grid-tied PV systems on the roof top of buildings in HEIs in Palestine.

In the fourth session, Eng. Fadia Hashaika from the University's Energy Resaerch Center team, introduced the living laboratory which will be established within the activities of Med-EcoSuRe project. She also talked about the Toolkit of Passive Solutions Design for Higher Education Buildings Retrofitting.

In the fifth session, Eng Ahmad Kamil, MA student at ANNU, and one of the trainers within project activities, presented the benefits of energy renovation of HEIs buildings for students living comfort taking the work done at ANNU builiding as a case study.

The info event was concluded with a discussion session aiming at sharing ideas and suggestions to disseminate the results obtained within Med-EcoSuRe and benefit from local initiatives and experiences. Following these discussions, it was decided to organize a national workshop, with the participation of several universities in Palestine in order to define new axes of collaboration.

Notes:

The Med-EcoSuRe (Mediterranean University as Catalyst for Eco-Sustainable ‎Renovation) is a project ‎funded by the European Union, under the ENI CBC MED ‎program. ‎The program is managed by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Italy) and aims ‎to promote cross-‎border cooperation in the Mediterranean region.‎