Palestine

This project phase has been completed.​

Promoting sustainable industrial energy in Palestinian

The need to address energy security in the State of Palestine is critical. Demand for electricity in the West Bank is already outstripping supply, and Gaza is experiencing severe power shortages – with an average of less than 12 hours of electricity per day to run all of Gaza’s essential services. Nearly all of the territories’ energy – 91% – is imported, and the vast majority of these imports come from Israel. Palestinian citizens currently pay one of the highest energy prices in the Arab world – one tenth of their income. The share of renewable energy in Palestine’s total energy supply was 5% at the end of 2022.

Industrial growth is being held back by high electricity prices and persistent energy shortages. Energy represents 40% of production costs. Additionally, the industrial sector accounts for a significantly lower share of total energy consumption (around 11%), compared to higher shares in Jordan (21%) and Egypt (27%). The low level of energy consumption suggests that the limited availability and high cost of energy is hampering potential industrial development and growth.

Why is industrial energy efficiency important for Palestine?

The potential for domestic renewable energy production in the state is also worthy of attention: with a high solar energy potential, moderate wind speeds and the possibility of exploiting biomass, Palestine is not without opportunities to reduce its energy import dependency. With more than 29% of Palestinian citizens living in poverty, 14% in the West Bank and 53% in the Gaza Strip, the need to promote a sustainable and affordable energy transition and support the competitiveness of the industrial sector is paramount.

Palestine’s energy sector is one of the most promising and attractive sectors for domestic and foreign investments. Industrial energy efficiency can boost business competitiveness and help secure the long term sustainability of Palestine’s primary industrial sector which include food, furniture and metal. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of the region’s six largest industrial sectors through energy efficiency would help to protect over 40,000 jobs and facilitate the creation of new skills in an emerging green economy.

Palestine’s geographic location in the Judean Desert means that access to water is an imperative. Because of increased temperatures, the water collected from rainfall is subject to evaporation from extreme heat. The ability of the Palestinian government to safeguard its environment and contribute to international climate goals is directly linked to its lack of control over its energy resources. Efficient energy consumption particularly in the industrial sector, as well as the development of a local renewable energy sector for industrial enterprises, will improve Palestine’s ability to reduce its carbon emissions.

Accelerating sustainable energy solutions with an ‘energy efficiency first’ approach

‘MOUSTADAMA – Promoting an Energy Sustainable Palestinian Industry –’ was launched in 2019 by UNIDO and the Office of the European Union Representative (EUREP) in Jerusalem, in partnership with the Ministry of National Economy.

The Programme aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to improve energy security and competitiveness in the industrial sector in the State of Palestine through sustainable energy solutions. The Programme focuses on energy management and conservation practices at the enterprise level in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and on increasing electricity supply through renewable energy and combined heat and power applications. With the above objectives in mind, the Programme deliberately adopts an ‘energy efficiency first’ approach, prioritising the promotion of energy efficiency and then looking at renewable energy solutions to fill the remaining gap.

Thanks to the robust process put in place to support and ensure gender mainstreaming in all its activities, MOUSTADAMA provides equal opportunities for men and women to participate in and benefit from all its initiatives.

To find out more, please visit www.moustadama.ps.

Top-industires-by-export_Palestine_page-UNIDO

Key service areas

icon-policy

Advocacy and policy support

The Programme aims to strengthen the policy and regulatory environment for renewable energy and energy efficiency in the industrial sector by supporting the operationalization and enforcement of the net metering scheme, facilitating the implementation of energy efficiency measures outlined in the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP), and promoting the development of policy guidelines for innovative renewable energy supply solutions, including safety standards for biogas production.
icon-capacity-building

Training and know-how

To further develop and support the local renewable energy and energy efficiency industry, the Programme will train and certify over 400 national experts, technicians and industrial enterprise staff in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The trainings focus on the design, installation, and maintenance of renewable energy technologies, on energy management systems, and on energy auditing to industrial end-users and service providers. In order to link this newly created expertise with the industrial sector, the Programme has developed a Peer-to-Peer platform for information exchange, cooperation and partnerships between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and energy experts and service providers.

Renewables icon

Creating demand for clean energy technologies

The Programme will help create a consistent demand for clean energy technologies in the industrial sector of the State of Palestine, by promoting 75 Demonstration Projects showcasing the benefits of sustainable energy together with 5 pilot projects focusing on innovative business models designed to re-risk investments – specifically in decentralized energy solutions and mini-grids.

entrepreneurship

Fostering entrepreneurship in clean technologies

The Programme is supporting 90 entrepreneurs and startups in developing innovative, locally driven energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions and provide seed funding to 9 winners of its annual business innovation competition. The Programme makes available valuable networking opportunities through study tours, awareness sessions, and business missions. Efforts will then be made to ensure that these new products and innovations developed can then be made available on the local and global markets for solutions of this kind.

Targets

0
energy experts

trained and certified in energy efficiency and renewable technologies.

0
local start-ups

supported to showcase benefits of sustainable energy solutions in industrial enterprises.

0
demonstration projects

established to showcase the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions in the industrial enterprises.

Achievements (as per March 2023)

Palestine infographic new

Our Partners

MOUSTADAMA is funded by the European Union and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of National Economy and in collaboration with Palestine Energy And Natural Resources Authority (PENRA).
Ministry-Palestine-partners-s
Unido-Palestine-partners-s
UN-Palestine-partners
Moustadama-Palestine-partners-S