The Energy and Water Ministry has allocated NIS 10 million for planning up to
2,000 hectares of future solar-power plants in an attempt to encourage green
energy entrepreneurship and minimize bureaucratic barriers.
The ministry
will be employing a company called Geo-Prospect to help pinpoint and plan sites
for future facilities, conduct feasibility studies for the prospective power
plants with 50-megawatt capacities and promote detailed national master plans
for their construction, the office said on Sunday.
RELATED:Israeli firm to open solar power station in SpainThe goal, according to
the ministry, is to provide “fertile ground” for entrepreneurs in the field of
renewable energy and arranging the necessary statutory measures, which are
typically obstacles to efficient progress in Israel’s renewable
sector.
Simultaneously, the ministry will continue to put pressure on the
Israel Lands Authority to approve permits for the construction of the
facilities, the office explained.
“An extensive subject that the ministry
is dealing with is removing the obstacles and barriers faced by entrepreneurs
and their difficulties moving forward,” Environment and Water Minister Uzi
Landau said in a statement released by his office.
In conjunction with
the ministry, Geo-Prospect will be responsible for helping entrepreneurs
overcome statutory barriers that often stand in their way and will meanwhile
ensure that the absolute best locations are chosen for future solar sites –
places that encourage entrepreneurs “to realize their full potential,” according
to Landau.
Some sites that are specifically under consideration include a
600-hectare area in Dimona; a 200-hectare area west of Dimona’s southern
industrial zone; a 500-hectare space within a railway loop east of Dimona; a
600-hectare area southwest of Rotem Park; and a 250-hectare area in the southern
Timna industrial area.
“The narrow borders of the State of Israel require
us to make sure that plants are situated in such a way that they only occupy a
necessary amount of space, with an optimal use of system capabilities,” Landau
said. “This way, clean electricity will benefit everyone, while upholding
the values of land, scenery and nature.”