Israel Will Increase Solar Energy Capacity with New Feed-In Tariff

The Israeli government has granted Arava energy with the sole licensing power to develop PV solar projects in Israel. The company received the license in March and has announced intentions to begin planning PV projects for the area soon.

Co-founder of Arava, David Rosenblatt, has said that the expedited licensing will give the start-up company, founded in 2006, a jump start over potential competitors. Arava plans to begin a 4.9 MW PV plant in Kibbutz Ketura, a desert in Israel. Additionally the company has received permission to begin constructing an 80 MW PV solar facility. 

The company is currently waiting on both planned facilities in order to receive word from the Israeli government on a proposed feed-in tariff. The announcement from the government for feed-in tariffs for solar plants is expected to be publicized any day now.

The tariff would be available to solar projects over 50 kW, but under 5 MW, however the amount of the government pay out is still being considered. Industry professionals expect the tariff to be roughly NIS 1.58 ($0.41) for a kilowatt per hour. The National Infrastructure Ministry said that it aimed to provide incentive with the tariffs to help Israel reach its 10% renewable energy goal by 2020.

“We were the first solar developers in Israel, and back then we used to get blank stares when we’d say we were doing solar power in the Middle East because it’s known for another type of energy,” Arava’s Vice Chairman, David Rosenblatt said. “Now Israel’s on the cusp of providing a feed-in tariff that people really like.”

Currently Arava is funded solely in part by Siemens which has raised funds from private investors on behalf of the company. Siemen’s own renewable energy team is anticipated to join Arava’s team of employees when the company begins building its proposed solar PV plants. Siemens has a previous history of working with Israel Electric in the country, and their investment in the country’s solar industry is the largest to date for Israel.

Thanks to cleantech.com for the above quote, for more information on this story please view their website.