Israel considering deal with Jordan on solar energy - report

Despite the potential of an agreement, EcoPeace warned that any Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank would jeopardize an Israel-Jordan partnership.

By CODY LEVINE
A worker walks next to parabolic mirrors at the research site of solar power company Brenmiller Energy near Dimona (photo credit: NIR ELIAS / REUTERS)
A worker walks next to parabolic mirrors at the research site of solar power company Brenmiller Energy near Dimona
(photo credit: NIR ELIAS / REUTERS)
Israel might buy solar power from Jordan to increase its use of renewable energy from 5% to 30% by 2030, The Guardian reported Sunday.
Israel is initiating a pilot program that would result in Jordan transferring 25 megawatts to Israel’s national grid, which would be able to power thousands of homes, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a letter to environmental activists, the report said.
EcoPeace, an organization consisting of Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian environmentalists, has been advocating for more partnerships in the region. By accessing Jordan’s larger amount of land and more frequent sunshine, buying electricity would be cheaper for Israel than producing it itself, EcoPeace said.
“Electricity has never crossed the Israeli border from any neighboring country,” Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director of EcoPeace, told The Guardian.
“We are calling for a Middle East green deal,” he said.
EcoPeace shared Steinitz’s letter with the Jordanian government in a bid to get the ball rolling on a potential deal, the report said. Jordan already buys natural gas from Israel.
Despite the potential of an agreement, EcoPeace warned that any Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank would jeopardize an Israel-Jordan partnership on solar energy.
The potential of an agreement on solar energy comes following an announcement by the Energy Ministry in June about a NIS 80 billion proposal to increase the percentage of renewable energy being used from 5% to 30% of total consumption. The majority of Israel’s energy is derived from natural gas and coal, both of which are fossil fuels.
While Israel does maintain solar-energy plants in the Negev Desert, the lack of available land in the area, which is also used by localities and the IDF, makes expanding in the area difficult.
Expanding solar energy in the Negev would be a challenge, Negev Energy Operation and Maintenance CEO Achiam Tigger told The Guardian.
“We do see a lot of moving projects… but to say that it will not be challenging to meet these dates and percentage, would not be true,” he said.
An Israel-Jordan partnership on solar energy would help reconciliation between the two former enemies, which have had a “cold peace” since the 1994 peace agreement, EcoPeace said.
“The tensions and issue of annexation have held up discussions, but we are hopeful,” Bromberg said.


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