Sand against electricity: The battle between the Treasury and the Israel Lands is exacerbated by the large solar field in Israel

Another Israeli Land Authority (RMI) demands to halt the tender, due to the existence of a huge sandstone quarry in the complex, and warning that the conduct of the Accountant General (Treasury) will cause damage to the construction industry, the ICA announced that the tender would continue as planned. "Because she ran a similar tender in Timna's inefficiency

What is more important - sand or electricity? This question is at the heart of a serious conflict that is currently getting worse between the Accountant General and the Israel Lands Authority around a tender for the country's largest solar field. Another PMI demands to halt the tender, due to the existence of a huge sandstone quarry in the complex, warning that the conduct of the NIS will cause damage to the construction industry, the NIS announced on Wednesday that the tender, which was launched about a month ago, will continue in its order. To the PMI, for conducting a similar tender in Timna's inefficiency.

The solar field is southwest of Dimona and covers an area of ​​3,000 dunams and is formerly a National Infrastructure Plan (IDF). The field is intended to construct a power plant that will generate electricity using 300 MW of photovoltaic technology. The largest solar power in Israel, and will help achieve the government's goals for electricity generation from renewable energy. About a month ago, the NIS released the tender documents, but then it was made clear to the PMI that the NIS ignores large sand deposits estimated at 6 million tons and their value Estimated at NIS 50 million. Since the sand mining process could not be performed after the station was established, about 10 days ago, Eran Reuveni, Director of the Southern District of the RMS, contacted the Secretary General to cancel the Dimona solar tender.

Itzik Mermelstein, Director of the Tender Infrastructure and PPP Projects, in charge of the tender, claimed in a response letter that, contrary to the PMI's claim, the Tender Committee works with full transparency with full information with representatives of the Southern District of the Ramsay and that there was full coordination regarding the auction deadline The sand.

"In light of your conduct, the question arises as to whether you want to promote the sand mining tender, because, if so, there are solutions, or your purpose is to outwit difficulties in promoting essential infrastructure projects. As you seek solutions, you are encouraged to contact in conventional and professional ways, and not through advertising. News in the media, "Mermelstein wrote in his response.

However, the tone of the PMI was exacerbated, and in a letter written yesterday by the PMI chief Adiel Shimron to the NIS, he wrote that he intended to organize the tender through the PMI. "Unlike other tenders that we do in coordination with the NIS, this tender does not find any complexity and / or uniqueness that justifies the intervention of another government body in real estate marketing. The Israel Lands Authority has the authority, knowledge and expertise to publish land auctions - including solar facility tenders - and we will work to advance the tender for the Dimona solar facility and bring it to the management's approval, "wrote Adiel in his letter.

Today, Marmelstein commented and detailed the actions taken for sand mining from the site. Among other things, he notes that as early as 2016, the Finance Ministry and the PMI agreed on sand mining from the site in accordance with the plan and the dates set by the PMI itself, but in practice the tender required for mining was not published and nothing was done to implement the plan. "If after the elapsed time, the RMI is unable to complete the sand mining tender and meet the agreed deadlines, we will work to promote the sand removal as part of the published solar tender," writes Mermelstein. "As far as the RMI thought it wanted to publish the tender, why did it not apply in a timely manner? This, and pending the publication of the documents by the Accountant General in 2020, the conduct in this regard reinforces the understanding that you are trying to delay the tender for non-professional and professional reasons and cause damage to the electricity sector.

Regarding the REMI requirement that the tender be managed by it as a land tender, Mermelstein conducted a comparison of the land tender in the previous year, during which the state undertook to purchase the electricity that will produce the facility at 30 agorot per kWh, compared to a similar tender held by the Treasury at that time. "A surplus price of 8.68 cents per kWh was achieved." The surplus cost will, of course, be charged to electricity consumers, "adds Mermelstein.