Sustainable Education through Renewable Energy...

"Why aren't the computers in use?"
It seems to be a perfectly logical question to the Head of ICT in the school...
"The electricity..." Perhaps not such a logical answer for those who have not experienced schools in rural areas of the country and not just here in Jordan; there are many school around the world for whom electricity is a luxury, and we talk about the new era of ICT in education?

Where there is a problem: there is always a solution.

The most recent project about to be launched officially by PAF is just that! The solution, and we hope it will be the solution for many schools around the country and other schools in need around the world, entails powering the schools through solar energy where any excess energy is sold to the national grid providing the school with an income leading to sustainability of the school affording all students access to quality education. The use of solr energy will also reduce the demand on conventional sources of energy, reducing the demand on the national grid and promoting the use of renewable energy as an alternative form of power. 

PAF has partnered with KIA Motors, to lauch the 'Schools Powered by KIA' project. This entails outfitting the schools with solar panels where the schools then produce their own electricity and run the school from A to Z through solar power. This means that they can finally use the computers, lights, printers etc. KIA have also donated cooling and heating systems which are able to run on solar power to the schools.

Two schools have been chosen as the models for the project and are located in the small village of Ghweibeh, in the Southern Jordan Valley. The installation of the solar system is now complete and the team is working on the testing of the equipment.

 

The system allows for the school to cover all their electricity needs through the solar panels and all excess energy will be fed into the national grid generating an income for the school which will allow the school improve the level of education by buying all the basic things they need, such as paper, pencils and extra resources to enrich the learning experience for all their students.

Students of Ghweibeh village; their excitement visible through their smiles!

These two schools will be fully oprational this coming week and we look forward to expanding this project to other schools across the country.

 

PAF would like to extend their deep gratitude and respect to KIA Motors and all their staff for their commitment and dedication in seeing this project come to life...we look forward to seeing more of our schools 'Powered by KIA'.

The Ghweibeh boys school



A view of the Ghweibeh girls school.