Harvesting the Sun Twice

Adrian and I decided that after all the excitement of traveling in the past frw days we would love a day off to just sit at a cafe and catch up on writing papers, emails, blogs and the like. We spent the morning lounging around Bethlehem, glad to be back in the West Bank, and happy to be able to put our bags in our apartment and home-base for the remainder of our trip. No longer weighed down by our heavy packs, we happily roamed the streets of Bethlehem picking up groceries and grabbing lunch at our favorite Falafel stand Afteem, all but in sight of the Nativity Church. We sat and wrote in Manger Square, passing the time, relieved to be stationary for once.

Adrian had received correspondence from a friend who invited us to a conference in Jerusalem at 5:30 entitled “Harvesting the Sun Twice”. Intrigued, we figured that we could just make it if we hurried to the bus stop. After a quick trip into Jerusalem, we called Adrian's friend for directions and struck out into West Jerusalem in search of the conference hall. We arrived around 45 minutes late, without an official invite, but our luck was still holding strong and we were let in with nary a second glance.

The conference was underway when we took our seats in the auditorium, but we quickly caught onto the gist of the project being presented. The project involved using thin-film photovoltaics, basically clear plastic which uses some of the available light to create electricity, and lets the rest of the light through. The project was examining the usage of these thin-film PV cells on greenhouses in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan as a possible replacement to the plastic roof coverings that are traditionally used on the region's many greenhouses. Although these technologies only provide for about 5% of the electricity of silicon PV cells, the ability to grow plants underneath with no noticeable disruption of growth is akin to “Harvesting the Sun twice!” If this technology is cheap enough, I am excited about the possibilities that it could bring to this region in terms of electrical independence.

If the product can provide electricity as well as crops for the farmer on the same piece of land it could do wonders for the farming population. There are still many questions to be answered, namely cost, durability, and reliability, but it is an idea which utilizes an infrastructure that is already built, and improves upon it.

After our journeys and the excitement of hands on building with Noam, this conference was a bit blasé in comparison, but still an excellent use of our time which would have otherwise been squandered roaming the internet or something.

Our next adventure takes place on a permaculture farm in Beit Sahour, a suburb of Bethlehem. Stay tuned for... BUSTAN QARAAQA!!!!