1. Palestine Energy Policy for Photovoltaic Generation: Current Status and What Should Be Next?
- Author
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Hiba Assi, Amin Bazyan, Tamer Khatib, and Sura Malhis
- Subjects
Palestine ,Payback period ,020209 energy ,Geography, Planning and Development ,lcsh:TJ807-830 ,Technical standard ,lcsh:Renewable energy sources ,02 engineering and technology ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,yield factor ,Energy policy ,photovoltaic ,020401 chemical engineering ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,0204 chemical engineering ,capacity factor ,lcsh:Environmental sciences ,lcsh:GE1-350 ,Electric power distribution ,Government ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,lcsh:Environmental effects of industries and plants ,Photovoltaic system ,Environmental economics ,lcsh:TD194-195 ,Business ,Electricity ,Unbundling ,energy policy ,feasibility - Abstract
Most of the consumed energy in Palestine comes from Israel. Meanwhile, the Israeli government controls the amount of electricity for Palestinians due to political reasons. This has led to many electricity shortages, prompting the Palestinians to invest in grid connected photovoltaic systems to mitigate electricity shortages. However, the lack of experience and loose energy policies have negatively affected the electricity distribution network in Palestine. Thus, this paper aims to discuss the current energy policy model for photovoltaic generation in Palestine and the challenges facing it. Moreover, 15 photovoltaic systems are selected in this research for technical and economical evaluation, to first show the typical performance of photovoltaic systems in Palestine, and second, to prove that there are failure cases in many systems due to a number of behavioral and structural barriers. Finally, the paper proposes a suggestion of unbundling transmission lines in the region to address the current critical status of photovoltaic investment in Palestine. As a result, the typical average yield factor of photovoltaic systems in Palestine is in the range of 1368–1816 kWh/kWp per year with a payback period of 5.5–7.4 years. However, the percentage of failure for the installed systems is found to be 47%. Meanwhile, the low awareness and lack of non-technical information are the main behavioral barriers, while grid infrastructure, lack of technical standards and staff training as well as loose and discouraging policies are the most dominant structural barriers.
- Published
- 2021