JW Marriott Hotel Cairo, a luxury hotel and resort brand of Marriott International, launched on January 19 the first solar-powered photovoltaic (PV) roof-top station for electricity generation, attempting to prompt the Egyptian hospitality industry to establish similar stations across the country, Invest-Gate reports.

With a capacity of 150 kilowatts, the solar energy station marks the first project in Egypt to use a grant made available by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-GEF Grid Connected Small Scale Photovoltaic System Project, which is being implemented by the Industrial Modernization Center, according to a recent statement by the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Cairo.

The project aims at supporting the “expansion of using rooftop solar energy systems in residential, commercial public buildings, hotels, and industrial facilities, develop the small scale renewable energy technologies markets in Egypt, facilitate its installation, increase national contribution in the assembly of solar systems, and build national technical capacities to create new jobs,” the statement read.

The development’s launch was marked by a ceremony attended by Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad, Executive Director of the Industrial Modernization Center Ahmed Taha, and UNDP Resident Representative Randa Aboul-Hosn.

According to the statement, Aboul-Hosn said the project supports the implementation of Egypt’s Strategy for Sustainable Development, or Vision 2030, and capitalizes on the country’s abundant solar energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions as per Paris Agreement, which is aimed at preventing the worst-case scenarios of global warming.