JERUSALEM, Sept. 21 -- Israel has launched a plan to promote renewable energy in the country's Bedouin communities, the country's energy ministry said Wednesday.

The plan includes a budget of 15 million shekels (4.3 million U.S. dollars) to improve the energy facilities in the Bedouin municipalities through energy saving, promotion of renewable energies and improvement of the electricity infrastructure.

The ministry said it has found significant potential for solar energy production, energy storage and efficiency in the Bedouin settlements in Israel, most of which are located in the southern Negev desert.

Fuel generators in schools that are not connected to the electricity grid will be replaced with systems that combine solar energy generation and storage, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, according to the ministry.

The plan will bring a considerable financial saving for the Bedouin local authorities, it added.

  - Xinhua