Solar thermal power for Talitha Kumi Corporate support where it matters Turning Ideas into Reality. MAN Ferrostaal Message by Minister of State Werner Hoyer, Federal Foreign Office Peace and stability in the Middle East are one of the key objectives of Germany’s foreign policy, as well as a matter close to the hearts of many people in our country. The German Government is strongly committed to the peace process with the political goal of a two-state solution which will allow Israelis and Palestinians to live together peacefully as neighbours. Unfortunately, however, everyday life is still very difficult for people in the region. This is the focus of the “Future for Palestine” initiative which former Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier launched together with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in January 2008. With this initiative we want to help people in the Palestinian territories through concrete projects which make their daily lives easier and have a quick impact. We have joined forces with a view to improving the quality of life locally and, in particular, young people’s prospects. For only those who have confidence in their own future will also have confidence in their government. And governments cannot successfully conduct political negotiations without support among the population. We have already initiated many projects together with foundations and companies, such as the extension of schools and health centres, or funding for cultural institutions and exchange programmes. The “Future for Palestine” initiative complements our traditional development cooperation and the broad spectrum of Germany’s engagement in the region. Bolstering the education sector is one of the main focuses of this initiative. In my view, one very successful project in this field – and also a showpiece project for the meaningful use of renewable energies – is the solar thermal plant on the roof of Talitha Kumi School in Bethlehem. This new installation will allow the school, which is German-run and provides a broad-based education for boys and girls of every faith, to considerably lower its energy costs, thus lightening the burden on its budget. This will release urgently needed funds for important and valuable teaching work. For at this school young people are encouraged to play a responsible role in shaping their future. I would like to sincerely thank MAN Ferrostaal, the company which is installing and funding the school’s solar thermal plant within the framework of the “Future for Palestine” initiative. I would also like to thank the German Energy Agency (dena), which is supporting this project as part of its solar roof programme. I wish the project every success and hope that our initiative continues to gain the backing of such dedi- cated supporters. Werner Hoyer, Minister of State, Federal Foreign Office Talitha Kumi Centre of learning for 900 students “Talitha Kumi enables children and young adults to live a normal life in a difficult region, to receive a good education, vocational training, and even to enrol in university later on. The practice of mutual respect, tolerance and of bringing people together, play an especially important role in that.” (Dr. Matthias Mitscherlich, Chairman of the Executive Board of MAN Ferrostaal) In addition to a primary and secondary school, Talitha In recognition of the school’s excellent work, the Federal Kumi encompasses a kindergarten, a boarding school, a Republic of Germany supports Talitha Kumi by dis­ hotel management college and several common rooms patching teachers to maintain the German tradition ­­ for social activities. The school offers its pupils an excel­ of the school, which began with its founder Theodor lent education, perspectives in vocational training and Fliedner in 1851. In 1997, Talitha Kumi was accepted as a preparation for university studies after graduation. member of the international UNESCO school circle. The guest house of Talitha Kumi is popular with travel­ Talitha Kumi is open for students of all religions and lers who like to explore the West Bank and the many reli­ faiths, so that they may learn from early childhood to gious sites nearby. At the same time the guest house is a interact with each other tolerantly and respectfully. model project for the student body of the hotel man­ Boys and girls at Talitha Kumi are educated to become agement college, providing them with the opportunity self­confident and self­determined personalities who of on­the­job training. value diversity, the freedom of worship and opinion, and social commitment. Talitha Kumi was originally founded as an Arabic girl’s orphanage over 158 years ago. The school has had an Located directly at the West Bank border with Israel, the outstanding role in female education ever since and has school is situated in a place of political dispute which continued to set great value in future­oriented positive imposes great difficulty on the institution. After the education throughout its history. construction of the West Bank barrier, it became impos­ sible for some students to enter the school’s premises. A second entrance needed to be set up to provide access for all students – whether from Israeli or Palestinian terri tory. Over the last few years the school has become a meeting The new solar thermal plant, with a total collector sur­ point for discussions and has hosted exchanges be­ face of more than 200 square metres, supplies over 26 tween Israelis and Palestinians. Talitha Kumi acts as percent of the school’s energy demand by providing the an intermediary between present and past, between main school building and subsidiary facilities as well as people of both sides of the border and various religions the kindergarten, the gymnasium, the dormitory and – Greek Orthodoxs, Lutherans and Muslims to name the attached guest house with warm water and central only few. heating. The plant saves expenses for Diesel fuel of about 21,000 EUR per year at the current price rate. The Berlin Mission in (BMW) has patronage over Talitha Kumi and finances the school’s budget. None­ Saving energy costs is of obvious concern to Talitha theless Talitha Kumi relies on donations to maintain its Kumi. An equally pressing concern is to save costs by activities. using ecologically sustainable, regenerative energy. The children attending the school should learn early and Therefore even the most essential expenditures bur­ with lasting effect about the value of energy and about den the budget greatly. Utility costs alone amount to environmental awareness. Visualizing the full asset of 80,000 EUR per year. A large part of these costs are the new solar plant, a digital display in the main hall of spent on warm water supply and central heating. the school building documents the plant’s output and avoided CO2 emissions. The latter amount to 57,000 kilograms of CO2 saved alone in the first year, which is equal to the avoided emissions of 24 middle-class passenger cars with an an- nual mileage of 15,000 kilometres. Corporate support from Ferrostaal and its partner Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) – German Energy Agency – helps Talitha Kumi to supply itself with envir- onmentally friendly energy and to reduce its utility costs sustainably. Clean and renewable energy Solar thermal power for warm water and heating The solar power division of MAN Ferrostaal realizes large-scale concentrating solar thermal power plants, offering the full scope of services from project financing, project development and management to plant construction. At the same time MAN Ferrostaal advances new solar power technologies with its partners and markets system solutions for solar cooling. Knowing of this expertise, former German Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier approached the board of MAN Ferrostaal with his “Future for Palestine” initiative, bringing to attention the situation of Talitha Kumi, a school in the Palestinian territories. The fully integrated school is widely known for its excel- lent curriculum, its pupils from multi-cultural and multi-religious backgrounds, and its various social engage- ments in Palestine. Talitha Kumi, however, relies on donations and sponsorship to maintain its activities. A great burden on the budget are expenses for utility costs. In order to help and support the school, MAN Ferrostaal issued a formal donation offer to Talitha Kumi over the supply and installation of a state-of-the-art solar thermal power plant for warm water and heating. The solar plant was to bring down Talitha Kumi’s energy costs and provide sustainable energy for the school in the future. In a successful Public Private Partnership, the project was jointly realized by MAN Ferrostaal and the Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) – the German Energy Agency – and co-financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) within the framework of the “dena Solar Roofs Programme for Foreign Market Development,” which is part of the German Renewable Energies Export Initiative. While MAN Ferrostaal contri bu ted the larger part of the project costs and saw to the installation of the plant, dena coordinated the project. Aside from recognizing the excellent work of Talitha Kumi, the donation of the solar plant and the partnership with dena has given MAN Ferrostaal the chance to demonstrate the great potential of solar thermal power systems even when used for modestly scaled non-industrial purposes. It gives the company the chance to show its capability in the field of solar systems and the possibility to enhance their market share. The new solar plant of Talitha Kumi is foremost meant to help the school directly but also to hint at the vast untapped potential for solar thermal power generation in the whole Middle East. dena Solar Roofs Programme for Foreign Market Development German technology is used across the globe and reliably supplies electri- city in both on-grid and off-grid applications.