Ashkelon Schools to Introduce Renewable Energy Curriculum
Starting next school year, Ashkelon schools will join the Ministry of Energy's national "Switch" program, designed to ensure every student understands where electricity comes from — and how to use it wisely.
The "Switch" program (known in Hebrew as "Ma'ala") will cover students in grades 5 through 8. The curriculum includes solar and wind generation, energy storage batteries, smart grids, and carbon footprints. The emphasis is practical: every class will design its own mini energy-saving project for their school.
Ashkelon is ideally suited for such a program: the city has been actively expanding solar generation, and in 2025 alone, panels with a combined capacity of 1.2 MW were installed on the roofs of municipal buildings. Students will be able to visit these installations as part of field trips.
Dedicated methodology workshops will be available for teachers. Schools that achieve the greatest reductions in energy consumption will receive municipal grants for additional equipment.
Green skills are no longer a distant prospect. Israel has committed to reaching 30% renewable energy generation by 2030, and specialists in this field will be in high demand within a few years — just as today's fifth graders enter the workforce.