MOSCOW – The Moroccan government in cooperation with the German authorities will create as many as 600 solar-powered mosques in the country by March 2019 in a bid to boost public awareness of renewable energy sources, media reported today.
According to The Guardian, energy-saving lighting, photovoltaic electricity generation and solar water heating will be installed in about 100 mosques by the end of 2016 if everything goes according to the government’s plan.
“We want to raise awareness and mosques are important centres of social life in Morocco. They are a place where people exchange views about all kinds of issues including, hopefully, why renewables and energy efficiency might be a good idea,” the project’s chief Jan-Christophe Kuntze was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Morocco’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs in coordination with the German government are said to cover up to 70 percent of the investment costs.
The national program dubbed Energy Efficiency in Mosques was launched in March 2014. It is aimed at reducing the government’s spending on mosques as it could pay the electricity bills of an estimated 15,000 mosques in the country. However, the main goal is to raise national consciousness of renewables and create jobs, according to the project’s description.
– Sputnik
