NPA wants to power parks and nature sites with wind turbines

The NPA is looking for turbines that produce up to 50 kilowatts, which don’t interfere with nature.

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
wind turbine 311 (photo credit: Windspire)
wind turbine 311
(photo credit: Windspire)
The Nature and Parks Authority (NPA) issued a call Monday for bids from wind turbine producers, with the aim of powering the lights and other facilities in parks and nature reserves via turbines, rather than laying more wires.
While standard turbines are often placed at the top of tall poles, the NPA is specifically looking for turbines which would be perpendicular to the ground, so as not to harm a nature reserve’s fowl population.
The NPA is looking for turbines that produce up to 50 kilowatts, which don’t interfere with nature. Companies are invited to bid until July 1.
A professional committee will evaluate all of the proposed technologies and pass suitable ones on to the next round. If a suitable turbine is found, the goal is to have one up and running in one national park by next year, according to the NPA.
Extra electricity would be sold back to the Israel ElectricCorporation. A tariff for producing electricity from wind was set justrecently, opening the Israeli market up to wind-energy producers in amanner similar to the recent tariffs established for solar energy.
Yuval Peled, head of the NPA’s planning department, emphasized that thetechnology it was looking for would be one with minimal impact onnature and wildlife, especially birds.
Eli Amitai, head of the NPA, stressed the opportunity to dispense withunderground infrastructure projects if wind turbines produce the power.
“This exemplifies that protecting nature is also protecting theenvironment. One of the most complicated challenges we face is the needto lay infrastructure – power lines, pipes and roads – through thenature reserves and national parks which damages nature, the landscapeand the heritage sites,” he said in a statement.


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