Zorlu Enerji, one of Turkey's pioneers in domestic and renewable energy, and Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDECO), which distributes 25% of Palestine's electricity, signed a new agreement to provide electricity to the region on Wednesday.

The agreement on building a 1.8 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Jericho, Palestine, was signed Wednesday at the Palestinian Energy Authority building in West Bank.

The signing ceremony was attended by Palestinian Energy Authority President Zafer Milhelm, Zorlu Enerji CEO Sinan Ak, the Vice Consul of Turkey in Jerusalem İhsan Eralp Semerci, JDECO General Manager Hisham Omari and Bank of Palestine General Manager Hashim Shawa.

Zorlu Enerji CEO Sinan Ak said they continue to carry on their knowledge and experience of more than 25 years abroad with renewable energy projects, adding: "We will build a solar power plant with a 1.8 MW in installed capacity in Jericho, Palestine, with ZJ Strong Energy for Renewable Energy Ltd. Co (ZJ Strong), which we have established in cooperation with JDECO to meet the region's energy needs with solar power plants."

He underlined that they aim to reach a total installed power of 100 MW, including 30 MW in the first phase, to provide electricity to the region. "We seek to further increase our international strength with our foreign investments in various renewable energy projects, especially solar power," Ak said.

Palestinian Energy Authority President Zafer Milhelm stated they were very pleased with the agreement, noting that the friendship between Turkey and Palestine has been moved to a different dimension by this agreement.

"We are very happy to see the friendship between the two countries in projects that improve trade and investment processes. We have launched talks with Zorlu Enerji and JDECO about the founding of another solar power plant with an installed capacity of 5 MW in the coming period. We will continue to work in partnership with Turkey," he told. Zorlu Enerji signed a 5 million Israeli shekel ($1.41 million) loan agreement with the Bank of Palestine to finance the power plant investment.