University bolsters sustainability efforts with additional solar power station on campus

A one-megawatt solar power station will supply Birzeit University’s faculties and facilities with electricity according to an agreement signed between the university’s board of trustees, represented by its chairperson Hanna Nasir, and the National Aluminum and Profile Company (NAPCO), represented by its general director Annan Anabtawi. 

Signed on Monday, June 22, 2019, this contract provides for the installation − on the university’s campus − of a power station that is expected to lower the consumption of energy generated by non-renewable sources by as much as 40 percent. 

The agreement is the latest step in a series of efforts the university has undertaken to bolster its environmental protection efforts and follows the establishment of a 259-kilowatt solar power system in April 2018. Overall, the campus currently houses five solar power stations that provide 442 kilowatts and cover around 20 percent of the university’s energy needs.

For its continuing efforts in promoting sustainability, both across its campus and in the broader Palestinian community, Birzeit University was ranked the most sustainable university in Palestine − and 305th in the world − in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, 2018. 

Additionally, the university won first place at the 6th Environmental Management Contest, held in Saudi Arabia in 2014, for its efforts to integrate environmental management into its campus design and operations.