BGU shields its eyes and stares into the solar future

Arava Power Company to make 'dramatic announcement.'

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
solar panel 88 298 (photo credit: Courtesy: Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Res)
solar panel 88 298
(photo credit: Courtesy: Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Res)
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has just wrapped up an intense week of solar energy events that culminated in the first ever French-Israel workshop to share research. First up was the SP2 working group meeting of the EU-funded PERFORMANCE project, then the 15th Sde Boker Symposium on Solar Energy Production, followed by the annual meeting of the Israel Sustainable Energy Society (ISES) and finally concluding with the workshop. On Wednesday, the first day of the French-Israeli workshop at Sde Boker, The Jerusalem Post caught up with BGU's Prof. David Fairman, who organized all four events. "The symposium has been running for 22 years and is the longest running solar energy conference in Israel, but we've never had so many people attend," Faiman told the Post. "We had about 150 people from all over. Lots of young start-ups and established companies like Luz II, Ormat, and Soleil. There were representatives of universities and research institutes all presenting their latest research," he said. For Fairman, a presentation by Better Place of their electric car charging network, a critical scientific look at electric cars and a presentation of a new turbine made out of sailcloth were highlights of the ISES meeting. Faiman made aliya from the UK two weeks before the Yom Kippur War. He started as a theoretical physicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, but decided he needed to get practical. He was recruited by Amos Richmond, who was founding The Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research and eventually became director of the university's National Solar Energy Center and chair of the department of solar energy and environmental physics. "We were particularly honored to have Dr. Harry Zvi Tabor [the father of Israeli solar energy] and Morton Prince, one of the co-inventors of the photovoltaic cell, the giants upon whose backs we stand," Faiman said with a pleased smile. Faiman explained that the France-Israel workshop idea was the brainchild of the former scientific attache at the French Embassy during a visit to the university. The workshop is backed by 500,000 Euros put up by France and matched by $500,000 put up by the Ministry of Science, French deputy scientific attache Sarah Lawangana told the Post. The money will be distributed to researchers from France and Israel working together on joint projects. Bernard Thonon of CEA-INES, France's national institute on solar energy, who presented an overview of French interest in solar energy during the workshop said he found it helpful and would be participating next year as well. Next year's workshop is scheduled to be held in France. "There are several points in which Israel has very good knowledge," which would supplement France's, he said. During his presentation, Thonon explained that French companies were interested in investing in solar for export use. "The overview was fine. I did not have a view of who were the main actors and research groups in Israel," he said. Previous collaborations had been of limited duration on specific projects which had not allowed for the wider perspective, he said. While France opted for nuclear power, they used to be pioneers in solar research and are still sitting on a vast archive of relevant documentation, Faiman explained. Recently, the French government decided to promote solar research again after a 15 year lapse, he said. Meanwhile, one company which stopped by to check out the latest research has big plans for Monday. The Arava Power Company, based at Kibbutz Ketura, has planned a press conference to make a dramatic announcement. The company hopes to turn the Arava into a solar Silicon Valley. "We are planning to announce something which we think will be a game changer," company president Yosef Abramowitz told the Post. He refused to elaborate.