Pioneering an innovative solar project in Gaza

The first private sector investment in domestic power supply is happening in the West Bank and Gaza—thanks to Canada’s assistance to the Palestine Real Estate Investment Co’s (PRICO) solar project. The project is developing, financing, constructing, operating and maintaining a 7.3 MWp (Megawatts-peak) rooftop solar photovoltaic power plant located inside the Gaza Industrial Estate.

Gaza is particularly affected by acute power shortages, and relies heavily on diesel-fuelled generators for basic needs like cooking. The innovative PRICO solar project is bolstering the region's power supply and jump-starting its use of renewables. It is addressing clean energy access and critical infrastructure needs in an area with extremely limited generation capacity.

The solar project is already having a positive impact in a fragile economy that is afflicted by unemployment, poverty and political instability, by providing a more stable energy supply in a region where power shortages frequently affect schools, hospitals, homes and businesses. Because of its innovative approach, the PRICO solar project was selected as a winner of the 2021 UN Global Climate Action Awards.