TEHRAN –According to an official with the Ministry of Education, seven new schools across the country have installed solar panels with the aim of using clean energy.

The schools are in the provinces of Isfahan, Qom, Golestan, East Azerbaijan, Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad, and South Khorasan, IRIB quoted Hamid-Reza Khanmohammadi as saying.

Nine more schools will soon be equipped with rooftop solar panels, he added.

“Installation of these panels will bring stable income for schools and reduce their expenses.”

It will also increase students’ awareness and help them learn about the economic benefits of using clean energy, he stressed.

The official stated that the Ministry of Education is planning to implement almost 2,500 more projects, and some 20,000 schools will soon benefit from solar energy.

Currently, 56 solar panel projects are operating in the country with 11 schools in Qom ready to install such panels with a capacity of 220 kilowatts.

The official went on to say that the Ministry of Education wants to install solar panels in all the newly built schools with the help of school-building donors.

Solar panels will prevent the emission of 560 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour, and save about 0.27 cubic meters of natural gas, and 0.22 liters of water, Khanmohammadi further noted.

Green schools to be constructed

In October 2023, Khanmohammadi said a total of 64 eco-schools would be built across the country meeting green management standards, the director of the Organization for

While calling the environment a vital issue, he stated, "Green management includes reducing energy, water, raw materials, equipment, and paper consumption, and recycling solid waste," Mehr news agency reported.

According to the sixth five-year development plan (2017-2021), it is mandatory to implement the green management program in all non-governmental public organizations and institutions, he stressed.

"Signing a memorandum of understanding with the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) and the association of school-building benefactors of the country to establish small-scale solar power plants in schools with the investment of donors, holding training courses on waste management in schools, and organizing scientific field trips to recycling centers are among the other programs of the Organization for Development, Renovation, and Equipping Schools in line with the preservation of the environment.”

First green school

In November 2022, the first school in the country with zero energy waste was inaugurated in the city of Zanjan, aiming to promote energy management in the education sector.

“In the country's first green school in Zanjan city, solar panels have been installed to generate and distribute 10 kilowatts of electricity,” Hamidreza Eslami, director of the provincial Organization for Development, Renovation, and Equipping Schools, said.

“The surface water treatment and recycling system is one of the facilities used in this school, and in fact, the precipitation and rainfall will be collected in tanks to be recycled,” he added.

Referring to the installation of a green roof garden in this school, Eslami stated that the fire alarm system, smart heating system, and ventilation devices are among the other unique features of this school.

Environmental plans

During the first round of President Ebrahim Raisi’s provincial trips that ended in April, a total of 55 environmental plans worth more than 6.78 trillion rials have been approved to be implemented across the country, IRNA quoted Alireza Noormohammadi, an official with the Department of Environment, as saying.

He added that the provinces of Mazandaran, Alborz, North Khorasan, and East Azarbaijan have the highest number of approved plans respectively.

President Ebrahim Raisi has highlighted the importance of environmental protection, emphasizing that the preservation of the environment is prior to every development.

“Environmental protection will lead to power, security, investment, and production growth in the country,” he said.

MT/MG