KFOS launches 'Solar panels in schools' in Prishtina

On Friday, 7 April, the “Solar panels in schools in the Western Balkans” Project was launched in two lower secondary schools of Prishtina,”Qamil Batalli” and “Iliria”. Supported by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society and implemented in cooperation with the Municipality of Prishtina and Jaha Solar, this project aims to promote energy transition by increasing clean and renewable energy production capacities — as well as by enabling public schools to reduce their costs in energy and use these means for other needs.

As a result of this project, two pilot schools of the Municipality of Prishtina, “Qamil Batalli and “Iliria”, have benefited from the installation of solar panels with a capacity of 20.25 kW, respectively 18.9 kW, which will enable them to save from 21% to 30% in their electricity bills. In monetary terms, these schools will be able to save from 2,200 to 2,500 Euros a year just from their electricity bills.

The project aims to expand revenue sources for public schools, strengthen self-governance and ownership of social programs, support the transition to sustainable energy, increase social inclusion in education and create environmentally friendly schools.

The Headmaster of “Qamil Batalli” School, Mr. Liridon Maliqi, thanked KFOS for the investment, the Municipality of Prishtina for the opportunity for this investment to take place in schools in Prishtina, and specifically in his school, as well as Jaha Solar for the implementation of the project.

The Deputy-Mayor of the Municipality of Prishtina, Mr. Alban Zogaj, said that the Municipality of Prishtina is very grateful for such an investment, since it helps not only the municipality, but also the whole of Kosovo and the energy industry in the country.

“These projects, be they small or even large, help save energy, because they use the energy that comes directly from the sun, which is free energy. The whole idea is to use that energy, and not the energy produced by burning coal, which is extremely harmful to the environment and to the human health,” said Deputy-Mayor Zogaj.

The Executive Director of the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society, Ms. Lura Limani, emphasized that this pilot project is part of the regional project that is being implemented in Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, whereas this year, it will also start to be implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “We thank the municipality for their cooperation and we hope, as they have promised, that they will return the saved funds as an investment to the school for infrastructure or additional activities”, said Ms. Limani.

Ms. Zanfina Kabashi, from Jaha Solar, was also present at the inauguration. She gave a short presentation of the technical side of the project implementation.

The investment has been made entirely with the means of the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society, but had it been made by the municipality or the school itself, the return on investment would be 6 years.

Since elementary schools in Kosovo do not manage the budget and do not even have bank accounts, the saved means, according to the commitment of the Municipality of Prishtina, will be returned to schools to contribute to their maintenance or to increase capital investments in these two schools.

The project is a joint initiative of Open Society Foundations in four Balkan countries - Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia. The project will expand in 2023 in order to include Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.