Category Archive » Environment
Jerusalem solar-energy firm hopes to build 8.5-MW field in Rwandan youth village
Current Rwandan President Paul Kagame Photo: REUTERS
President Kagame lauds cooperation, says country ‘feels close to Israel.’
The developing nation of Rwanda – through the vision of a Jerusalem-based team led by American-Israeli Yosef Abramowitz – may soon become home to an 8.5- megawatt solar oasis capable of providing 8 percent of the country’s energy supply.
Although Abramowitz’s Energiya Global and the Rwandan government are still working on signing a final agreement, the company provided a progress report on the project on Tuesday morning at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, in the presence of Rwandan President Paul Kagame. If the agreement is finalized, the country’s first solar field will be located at the Agahozo- Shalom Youth Village, a boarding school for genocide orphans east of Kigali, the country’s capital.
The company hopes not only to bring a new and clean source of energy to Rwanda but also to catalyze industrial growth, create jobs and generate revenue for healthcare and education.
“We are very grateful that you can make the choice to invest in us as well as with us,” Kagame said.
Abramowitz launched Energiya Global as its president and co-founder with the hope of bringing solar energy to the developing world. President and co-founder of the Arava Power Company as well, Abramowitz and his partners were responsible for the construction of Israel’s first grid-connected, medium-sized solar field, which came online at Kibbutz Ketura in June 2011. New Jersey businessman David Rosenblatt and Ketura resident Ed Hofland cofounded both companies with Abramowitz, and were joined by Ira Green and company chairman Howie Rodenstein in establishing Energiya.
“We feel that we are brothers and sisters with the Rwandan people, because we have also come from darkness into light,” Abramowitz said.
The 8.5-MW project would encompass about 16 of the youth village’s 60 hectares and would provide approximately 8% of the country’s energy, explained Chaim Motzen, vice president and Africa regional director at Energiya Global.
“There’s a great solar resource in Rwanda,” he said.
The business climate of Rwanda is one of the best in all of Africa, and the government is eager to reduce its dependency on diesel fuel, Motzen stressed. Rwanda has about 100 MW of electricity for its 11 million people, which is derived from approximately 55% hydroelectric sources, 40% diesel and 5% methane gas.
After Energiya and the government of Rwanda signed a memorandum of understanding, the company submitted its feasibility study to the government at the end of 2012, and final negotiations toward signing a deal are now taking place.
“We hope that we will break ground and begin construction before Christmas,” Motzen said.
Once the solar field is operating, it will support the country’s economic growth, provide power to public institutions such as hospitals, reduce operating costs for businesses and create thousands of jobs, he explained. The site will also become an educational hub, attracting students from the village and from the region to come learn about solar energy production.
The facility will also have a positive environmental effect on both a national and local scale, reducing the need for women to burn wood in their homes – an act that makes their air 20 times more polluted than that of Beijing, Motzen said.
“The project will be a reliable source of income for the orphanage,” and a portion of the profits will be shared with the village, he added. “We hope that this is a replicable model.”
Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village is the ideal host site for the country’s first solar field, according to Anne Heyman, the Jewish South African-American attorney and philanthropist who founded the village in December 2008.
The massive Rwandan genocide in 1994 led to a situation in which there was “no systemic solution to the orphan problem,” Heyman explained.
By establishing the youth village, she said she aimed to transplant the Israeli way of coping with traumatized youth to Rwanda, noting that “we share a common history in so many ways.”
This past January, the village was proud to send off its first graduating high-school class, with 99% of the students passing the Rwandan national exams, she said.
“These are kids that came from the worst of the worst,” Heyman continued, stressing that now, they aim to give back to their country. “These are kids who are able to communicate, to think creatively.”
Heyman explained that Rwanda is also a fitting country for solar energy development, as concern for the environment is prevalent among its citizens, who will not even be seen carrying plastic bags. In his capacity as president, Kagame advocates a policy of diversifying energy sources as widely as possible, she added.
“It’s such a perfect match for Agahozo-Shalom to be a place where we will be able to bring alternative energy,” Heyman said.
Now that the Israeli youth village system has proved successful at Agahozo-Shalom in Rwanda, Heyman said, she feels that the concept “can be replicated with great success.”
“The challenge now is to figure out how to make this village and the ones that follow sustainable,” she said. “We need people willing to invest in businesses – like the solar company – on behalf of the village. Then we are talking true sustainability.”
In the eyes of Kagame, Agahozo- Shalom Youth Village “symbolizes the partnership that is there, that we want to be there” between Israel and Rwanda.
“In Rwanda we feel very much closely associated with Israel,” he said. “We are happy to build on this, on these symbols of togetherness.”
While there are still many challenges for Rwandans to overcome, Kagame stressed, none is “insurmountable,” adding that people who came from nothing are now able to become something in the country. Some of the challenges include continually improving education, developing technology, constructing infrastructure, integrating the various regions of the country and bringing markets to scale, he explained.
“We want to impact lives of people,” Kagame said. “There are things that cement all these ideas together and one of these is energy.
“You understand the meaning of that,” he said.
Source: Jpost.com
Andrew Lee: Biodiversity in Israel
By: Andrew Lee
I have spent most of my time in Israel for the past nine months in Jerusalem. The one thing that I miss most about Canada — the trees! Trees that reach up towards the clouds, that tower their surroundings, and are covered in green.
In Jerusalem, most of the trees are slightly yellowed and fragile. Basically, the trees look like they are constantly clinging onto life. The heat and dry climate certainly have something to do with this! However, last weekend I did the Yam-to-Yam hike, from the Mediterranean sea to the Sea of Galilee, and I truly came to understand that Israel cradles three ecological zones. Past Rosh Hanikra, towards the Sea of Galilee, the land becomes much more lush and green. In a way, it reminds me of the boreal forests of Ontario — yet it was much more dynamic. Rather than being primarily one type of forest, as we walked closer towards the Sea of Galilee, the land would slowly shift. From rocky terrain flanked by mountains, to lush landscapes with water spouting from the ground in such a small piece of land (compared to Canada) — it was truly mindboggling. I never would have expected to experience such biodiversity in Israel.
Andrew Lee is a Canadian student currently studying in Israel.
Tel Aviv makes National Georgraphic’s list of top 10 beaches
National Geographic circumnavigates the globe on a quest to find the world’s best beach cities.
Call it Miami Beach on the Med. Tel Aviv is the Dionysian counterpart to religious Jerusalem. In the “bubble,” as it’s known for its inhabitants’ tendency to tune out regional skirmishes, some restaurants, discos, and clubs are open until dawn. By day, the scene shifts to the city’s promenade and eight miles (13 kilometers) of beach literally steps from town. Head to wide and sandy Gordon Beach to sit in a seaside café or take a dip in the saltwater pool.
Ramon Crater up for 8th Wonder of World
One of Israel’s natural treasures included in competition sponsored by VirtualTourist.com alongside San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes
Since the Original Seven Wonders of the World – the Colossus of Rhodes, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus – a list compiled by the Ancient Greeks who marveled at these extraordinary geological locales, many modern lists have been conducted by various institutions, including one by CNN, which often include the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal, the Golden Gate Bridge, the CN Tower, and many more.
Now, in a bid to finally label which of these wondrous destinations deserve the acclaim, VirtualTourist.com, a travel research website part of the Trip Advisor Media Group, is sponsoring the Eight Wonder of the World contest, which is officially underway.
Over 200 contenders will battle for the prestigious title, including San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes, Houston’s Armand Bayou Nature Center, Badlands National Park, the Indianapolis Motor Speedboat, and also Israel’s Ramon Crater.
The Makhtesh Ramon Crater site is a 200-million-year-old naturally formed crater, the largest of its kind in the world.
“The USA has its Grand Canyon and Canada has its abundance of natural wonders as well, but Israel has the Ramon Crater,” states Ami Allon of Canada’s Consul for Tourism, Israel Government Tourist Office. “The diversity and contrasts of the regions of Israel offers our visitors a great abundance of breathtaking natural wonders, picturesque vistas, and their corresponding visitor experiences.
“The Ramon Crater is one of those natural national treasures that is being discovered by adventurous visitors to Israel and which warrants such international recognition.”
The contest winner will be featured in a nationally broadcast TV segment and will be highly publicized on VirtualTourist.com.
Travelers worldwide can submit one vote per day up until September 30 at www.virtualtourist.com/8thwonder.
VIDEO: Guerrilla Lighting event TLV 2013
Tel Aviv was the location for the international phenomenon of ‘Guerrilla Lighting’, a protest against wasteful use of light and aimed at raising the awareness of the power of light.
The first Guerrilla Lighting event in downtown Tel Aviv celebrating 10 years to UNESCO declaration on Tel Aviv as a world heritage site.
PM Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Edelstein dim Knesset lights for Earth Day
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein dimmed the lights of the Knesset at 8:04 pm Monday in solidarity with International Earth Day 2013.
The switch that Netanyahu and Edelstein symbolically flipped for this day of conserving energy is located near the entrance of the Knesset, beside Edelstein’s office.
Earth Day encourages people around the world to switch off lights for one hour beginning at 8 pm to stress awareness of conserving the planet.
Source: Jpost.com