Nov 30 2010
Buyukeceli, a small Village in Turkey, opposed the installation of a nuclear plant in a novel way by giving importance to solar energy. They utilized the offered support of Greenpeace and installed solar PV panels over a local mosque.
In the beginning, the residents of the village were looking forward to installing solar power panels over a school but the government’s refusal made them to shift the installation over a mosque. The villagers were resisting the attempts of the government for installing a nuclear plant for over 37 years due to perceived risks such installation may pose.
Mosque with Solar Panels
Greenpeace, which coordinated the efforts of the villagers and a long time crusader against the use of nuclear power, has provided the panels and completed the installation in 10 days time. The power generated from the installed solar panels will be utilized to meet the power requirement of the mosque and any extra unused power will be transferred to the grid. Regardless of its solar potential particularly in its southern provinces, Turkey was going slowly on implementation of solar power due to high cost of solar panels and other related installation equipment. Recently, Solimpeks Solar Energy , a solar power company from Turkey, has announced its decision to produce a hybrid solar system, which can generate power as well as hot water, thus expecting a favorable shift towards the use of solar energy.
According to Alidost Numan, Project Coordinator, Greenpeace Mediterranean, the use of clean energy while protecting nature, also offers a number of job opportunities. Citing the governments move for nuclear power, he added that promoting solar power by offering inducements for solar system installers, the government can create over 120,000 new clean job positions while providing clean green power to the public.