PTUK and PARC Hold Workshop on Renewable Energy Uses in Agriculture


Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie and Palestinian Agricultural Relief Commission organized a workshop on uses of alternative energy resources in agriculture within the sustainable agricultural production project for small and medium size farmers in the Palestinian lands. The workshop was attended by the University President, Prof. Nour Abu-Rub, the Dean of Agricultural Sciences and Technology College, Dr. Yamen Hamdan, and the Director of PARC in Tulkarem, Ahed Zanabeet, along with official representatives from the local concerned partners. The lecturer in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at PTUK, Saed Khayyat opened the session pointing to the agricultural historic nature of Kadoorie University and the continuous incubation of the different activities in the field of agriculture for past decades. PTUK President, Prof. Nour Abu Rub stressed the importance of the workshop subject due to its close connection with the agricultural and energy sectors, pointing out that the agricultural sector contributes a large share to the national Palestinian economy and employs a satisfied number of jobless men and women. Prof. Abu Rub also thanked the organizers who proposed their research papers in the fields of renewable energy resources, maximizing attention to the necessity of economic disengagement from the Israel occupation particularly electricity services which magnifies the need to enact new actual laws that encourage the citizens and the institutions to use new, alternative, and clean energy instead. “Such legal procedures and laws should be modified in the current law articles so as to develop competitive energy resources for the service of a true Palestinian investment for fostering operational projects,”he explained. The University President also touched upon the water scarcity crisis and the farmers’ suffering due to the Israel’s control and their imposed constraints and limits of using water in the Palestinian areas, which consequently increases the need of using renewable resources to alleviate the water crisis. Ms. Khader tackled the significance of using renewable and alternative energy resources as solar energy, particularly, can be generated greatly in Palestine due to the long sun shining during the year which will bring in great benefits including the reduction of reliance on the Israeli occupation resources of energy as well as reduction of the production cost and stopping of the negative environmental effects. Zanabeet reviewed the most significant projects implemented by PARC in connection with the solar energy uses in several national districts which gave rise to achieving great benefits and development for the farmers’ interests, adding that the PARC has been arranging to implement more similar projects. The workshop included research scientific papers carrying out subjects of renewable energy resources in Palestine including: “Renewable Energy in Palestine and Investment Horizons in Bioenergy,” Dr. Mahmoud Ismaeel, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, PTUK, “Role of Palestine Water Authority in Supporting Scientific Research in fields of Water, Food, and Energy”, Dr. Sobhi Samhan, Palestine Water Authority, “Solar PV Applications for Agricultural Field,” Abdullnaser Dweekat, Massader Company, “Design of Photovoltaic Water Pumping System for Irrigation in Palestine,” Dr. Thamer Khatib, PTUK, Feasibility of Grid-Connected PV System under the Net Metering Renewable Energy Law in Tulkarem,” Mohammad Jallad, Tulkarem Municipality.