Solar Energy — Putting Power back into the Hands of Ordinary Gazans

Aug 3, 2017 | Sara Badiei
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"We have electricity for two hours every 24 hours," says a high-ranking energy official in Gaza. Up to just 10 years ago, Gaza enjoyed full, round-the-clock electricity supply 24 hours a day. But by 2016, this was reduced to 12 hours per day due to severe power shortages — and the situation has declined rapidly since.

Gaza typically imports 120 Megawatts (MW) of power from Israel and 20MW from Egypt, while generating 60MW domestically at the Gaza Power Plant (GPP). Together, this supply is only enough to meet half of Gaza’s power demand, resulting in the rationing of electricity in which eight hours of power supply is followed by eight hours of power cuts.