The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the Public Utility Authority for Electricity, Noga – The Israel Independent System Operator Ltd., and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), have reached an agreement whereby more than 2,000 megawatts of power from renewable energy sources will be added to the existing power grid, chiefly in the north and south of the country. The move was led by Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Israel Katz, after negative responses by IEC to requests to connect new projects to the grid reached record proportions.
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To illustrate the importance of the additional 2,000 megawatts, on August 13, 2023, at 14:53, when electricity consumption in Israel reached an all-time record (15,690 megawatts), electricity from photo-voltaic sources amounted to 2,644 megawatts, while 3,379 megawatts were produced from polluting coal burning. The 2,000 megawatts from renewable sources now agreed upon, for which authorization for connection to the grid is expected to be obtained within a few weeks, will thus substantially reduce the need to use coal.
Even this, however, is of limited significance for Israel’s power industry. Only in 2026 will Israel reach the target set for 2025 of 20% of power produced from renewable sources. Without a massive upgrade to the country’s power grid, the 2,000 megawatts now being added will be the end of the story.
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has therefore said that the entities responsible will continue to advance medium- and long-term solutions for the grid, planned by Noga, to the tune of NIS 17 billion up to 2030. The development program is designed to facilitate a very large intake of power from renewable sources, and the construction of storage installations with a capacity of hundreds of megawatts.
“I will not accept a situation in which the map of Israel is two-toned – green in the center, but in the periphery, in the north and the Negev, it is red, and citizens and developers cannot connect up their renewable energy installations,” Katz said. “Not only will we enable thousands of megawatts to be streamed to the power grid, but we shall also provide financial incentives to anyone who wishes to do so to set up a renewable energy installation on his or her property, with the aim of turning the country green.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on September 11, 2023.
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