As part of Easy to Breathe, the national environmental program launched by KKL-JNF and the Ministry of Environmental Protection in March 2017, six old public housing buildings in Beit She’an and three in Safed will soon be renovated and retrofitted to become solar powered buildings. The project is also funded by the Ministry of Construction and Housing.
Easy to Breathe is a national environmental program aimed at reducing pollution and environmental risks and improving the quality of life of all Israelis. In this framework, the program will fund the restoration of buildings in Safed and Beit She’an and retrofit them with solar power generation systems.
Small PV panels generating solar energy are to be installed on rooftops of buildings in Bet She’an and Safed. Funding for the project will come from KKL-JNF and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP). Revenues from power generation will be used for the maintenance of the buildings and their adjacent outdoor areas – stairwell lighting, gardening work in the adjacent open spaces, etc. – for a 20-year period. Revenues from power generation are projected to cover costs of taxation, commissions, overheads, licensing and insurance, so that the project will fund itself without the tenants having to spend a dime.
Easy to Breathe will be highly beneficial for the tenants, because thanks to the savings in energy and gardening costs, their maintenance fees for the common areas will go down. Their quality of life will improve and the properties’ value will go up, because solar energy will provide a fixed income that will be reinvested in the building’s maintenance.
Easy to Breathe is a NIS 390 million environmental revolution led by KKL-JNF and MoEP. It includes four programs: the clean car revolution, efficient energy use and saving resources, rehabilitation of old public housing buildings and retrofitting them with solar energy systems, and revamping open spaces in peripheral neighborhoods.
KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar said:
“KKL-JNF is Israel’s largest leading environmental organization. In addition to our commitment to promoting policies with social value and to developing green spaces, we see tremendous importance in improving the fabric of life and the quality of life for everyone in Israel. The improved neighborhoods and energy efficiency projects are part of our commitment to reduce gaps in the geographic and social periphery of the State of Israel, and to make conditions in these areas equal to those in the center of the country. I am certain that these green projects will help the local authorities save costs and will enable them to allocate resources for the advancement of education and welfare, while improving the residents' environment and air quality."
