When:   Greenstar Foundation, working with the United Nations Development Program, EcoPeace, A-S-E Americas, and the Palestinian Energy Authority (PEA), announced the installation of a stage one pilot of the Greenstar Village Center in the Palestinian village of Al-Kaabneh in mid-December, 1998.The pilot features solar panels to supply twenty kilowatt-hours of power per day, an ultraviolet water purifier and a medical refrigerator. The UNDP has agreed to provide operational funding for the program for as long as the village has no access to conventional electrical power. The PEA and the village authorities are preparing agreements to provide full local support. Dr. Charles F. Gay, formerly head of DoE's National Renewable Energy Lab and now president of A-S-E Americas, took the lead in installing this pilot program. The announcement of this program was made at PEA headquarters in Ramallah, and again at the city of Hebron, near Al-Kaabneh, on December 14. An agreement was signed between the PEA and the village, governing management of the system. Click here for press releases and event details. Below is a map showing the location of Al-Kaabneh relative to Hebron, the nearest major city, to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.