Mapping solar energy access in the State of Palestine

The meeting commenced with welcoming remarks from ESCWA, followed by a brief introduction of the IMSE project, which aims to support countries in mapping renewable energy applications to inform decision-making and policy development. The project includes virtual coordination meetings, regional training workshops, and stocktaking exercises. Key points discussed were as follows: 

• ESCWA kindly requested nominating focal points from both the energy and statistics sectors in Palestine to ensure sustained collaboration throughout the project lifecycle.
• ESCWA presented the work of its Geostatistical Lab, with examples from Iraq, Bahrain, Djibouti, and Yemen. A live demonstration of the Geo-Insights Portal was conducted.
• The Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority (PENRA) delivered a presentation on its Database & Mapping Platform, which maps on-grid solar energy systems (>5 kW) and utility transformers in the West Bank and Gaza. The objective of this centralized platform is to enhance data management, transparency, and efficiency. The platform reports that 300 MW of on-grid solar PV systems are installed across the State of Palestine. A live demonstration of the platform  followed. It was acclaimed during the meeting that this portal is of high quality, and is useful for reverse knowledge sharing, and ESCWA will utilize it to enhance its GIS capacity. Future updates include incorporating net-metering data and off-grid systems, with a long-term vision of transforming it into a real-time monitoring tool.
• The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) explained the work done on energy statistics in the State of Palestine, noting strong collaboration with PENRA to issue yearly energy statistics, covering energy use, biomass use, SDG7 indicators, solar water heaters.