ASIA/JORDAN – The parish of Zarqa is the first to acquire a "solar energy system"

Saturday, 29 March 2014

Zarqa (Agenzia Fides) - The Twelve Apostles parish of Zarqa is the first church in the Middle East to acquire a solar energy system. This was confirmed to Fides Agency by the parish priest Kurzum Elias. "The idea", says Elias to Fides "came to me during the summer period, when the heat in June, July and August makes us suffer... I thought: why not exploit it, in order to pay less money".
A system of solar panels placed on the roof of the church can produce from 50 to 60 kW/hour of energy every day, even in winter. The city of Zarqa is located in a semi-desert area, and the number of sunshine days is estimated at 300 days a year.
In addition to an economic asset, the solar panels generate clean energy, still called green energy, which produces a really low level of pollutants, indeed, almost pollutant free. "For now", says father Kurzum "we cover thanks to the sun, half of the total energy consumption. We aim to add more panels".
That achieved in the Twelve Apostles parish is presented as a pilot project that could be followed by other parishes. This project would not have seen the light of day without the great generosity of L’Oeuvre d’Orient association, which contributed fully to its realization. L’Oeuvre d’Orient, an initiative of a group of lay people, was founded in 1856. The French organization is dedicated to helping Christians of the Middle East. "The system was installed on 2 February, the day when the Church celebrates the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, also known as the "festival of lights". I thought it was a beautiful and evocative coincidence", said Father Elias Kurzum. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 29/03/2014)


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