Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan signed personal orders for the CEO of the Israel Electric Corporation on Sunday, requiring filtering technology installed in coal-fired power stations.By 2016, all of the country’s coal-fired power plants will have to have filtering technology. The two in Hadera and Ashkelon will receive filters, while the older one in Haifa will be shut down.
A second planned coal-fired power plant in Ashkelon, known as Project D, was recently converted to a natural gas powered generator with a coal backup.Such measures are expected to reduce air pollution by 5 percentage points to 40% and are therefore of farreaching significance, Erdan said. They are also expected to generate $2 billion in savings as people’s health improves and fewer medical treatments and procedures are needed.Installing the filters will require shutting down the coal-fired power plants, so the work is being spaced out over the next five years to prevent power outages.The personal orders were signed after a lengthy negotiation process that included all of the relevant governmental and NGO players, as well as a public hearing, the ministry said.Israel lagged 10 to 20 years behind permitted outputs from coal-fired power plants compared to Europe, Erdan said. if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";}The orders were crafted in line with the newest European directive and have been designed to bring Israel in line with global trends, he said.