ISRAEL TURNS TO THE SUN

Israeli Solar Warms Up; The country has embraced technological innovation—except in renewable energy. Is that finally changing?

Daniel Gross, August 7, 2015 (Slate)

“…[After six years of development, the first utility-scale solar plant to be built in Israel went online last month. A 40-megawatt solar power plant, it is a joint venture of Arava Power and a subsidiary of Électricité de France. Though modern Israel has become known as ‘startup nation’ for the ability of its nascent tech firms to balloon to global scale in a matter of months and the country’s immense solar resources, the government-owned Israel Electric Corporation has preferred to rely on coal, natural gas, and diesel. Last year, Israel derived less than 2 percent of its power from renewable sources.] The reasons for this aversion to solar-energy innovation are very Israeli—nationalized ownership of significant resources, endemic bureaucracy, fractious politics, and a legacy of socialism…[But in] spite of the bureaucracy and the speed bumps, Israel’s desert is slowly beginning to bloom with silicon panels that help convert the sun’s rays into electrons. Arava Power’s plant won’t hold its title as Israel’s largest solar generating facility for long. Earlier this summer, construction on one of the long-delayed, 110-MW Ashelim plants began.” click here for more

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