By Bassam Abu al-Rub

NABLUS, July 6, 2017 (WAFA) – To the west of Nablus, a sewage treatment plant was built. The land around it is planted with trees and other crops.

Sewage and waste water coming from the western sections of Nablus, as well as from five villages, are collected at this station, which treats around 10 cubic meters of waste water a day and which is used to irrigate trees and land.

However, what makes this station unique is the fact that it is also used to generate electricity from the methane gas emitted from the sewage treatment.

The station, built with 90 per cent financing from the German government and the rest from the municipality of Nablus at a cost of 40 million euros, can also produce, in addition to treated water, seven megawatts of electricity a day to run it. This means the municipality will also be able to save 1000 euros a day in electricity it would have bought from Israel to run the plant.

Plant manager and head of German projects in Nablus, Suleiman Abu Ghoush, told WAFA that the idea of producing electricity from methane gas came from the beginning. However, after it was realized that the quantity of methane gas that will be produced will be enough to generate electricity that will run the station, it was decided to go ahead with it.

He said the station was a success story for the municipality since it became a permanent source of alternative energy that depends on waste water and sewage.

With the success of this project, the Nablus municipality plans to build another treatment plant on the other side of the city that will also be able to generate enough electricity and water to serve the city’s residents.

M.K.