TEHRAN –The Ministry of Education has signed a memorandum of understanding with benefactors to equip more than 2,000 schools with solar power panels.

Each solar power panel will produce about 20 kilowatts of electricity, 50 percent of which will be used by the school and the rest will be injected into the country’s electricity grid, serving as a source of revenue for the schools, IRNA quoted Education Minister Alireza Kazemi, as saying.

More schools to go green

In April, Hamid-Reza Khanmohammadi, an official with the Ministry of Education, said seven new schools across the country 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 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.”

MT/MG