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The production of solar electricity in the country is suffering a severe blow Israel today

2020-12-17T05:40:41.166Z


| Economy and Consumerism The state is trying to stimulate reaching the goal of producing 30% of electricity in Israel from solar energy • From next month, it will cut the revenues of those who own solar panels Solar panels in Israel, in 2018 Photography:  Moshe Shai In the flood of news events in the past month, a knowledge was hidden in the tools that may not have made its way into the headlines, but its implication


The state is trying to stimulate reaching the goal of producing 30% of electricity in Israel from solar energy • From next month, it will cut the revenues of those who own solar panels

  • Solar panels in Israel, in 2018

    Photography: 

    Moshe Shai

In the flood of news events in the past month, a knowledge was hidden in the tools that may not have made its way into the headlines, but its implications may be relevant to most Israeli citizens for decades to come.

This is different: the Ministries of Finance and Energy, the Israel Land Authority and the Electricity Authority announced the publication of the "tender for the construction of the largest solar power plant in Israel" near Dimona.

In its solemn announcement, the state emphasizes that the new power plant "will help achieve the government's targets for electricity generation from renewable energies, which stand at 30% of total electricity generation by 2030." 

The pretentious 30% target was first published in "Israel Today" last May, when Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz announced that he would increase the volume of electricity production from renewable energies in the next decade from 17% to 30%.

According to Steinitz, the state will invest a huge sum of NIS 80 billion so that by the end of the next decade, almost a third of Israel's energy will be generated through the sun, compared to zero carbon.

"We are talking about a sixfold doubling in ten years," Steinitz announced.

Finance Minister Israel Katz also stressed the importance of the issue for the government: "The success of the tender will pave the way for the introduction of additional technologies and large-scale storage facilities, which in the future could be a substitute for conventional power plants and help advance government renewable energy targets."

According to the above announcement, the designated solar power plant will cover about 3,000 dunams. The tender includes, for the first time, a requirement to integrate technology for energy storage in batteries on a significant scale, recognizing that electricity storage is a necessary condition to advance Steinitz's storage. In electricity produced from the sun even in the evening hours when there is no sun, but the demand for electricity is high. 

Thus, during solar radiation, the storage system is charged with excess solar energy and in the evening, it "releases" this energy into the electricity grid, instead of supplementing the missing energy through production with polluting fuels.

January: Profits plunge

So far, it must be admitted, Israel is not a resounding success story in the field of renewable energies.

Based on the State Comptroller's report published last October, while the goal of energy efficiency was a 20% reduction in energy consumption, in practice only 7.5% was reduced. 

The report shows that the increase in the volume of electricity production from renewable energies is indeed in a positive trend, but it is not enough. Against the targets set - 5% of the total power installed in 2014, and 10% of the power in 2020 - the data in the report 58% and 50%, respectively, between target and execution.

The report also criticizes the lack of promotion of the construction of photovoltaic facilities on government office buildings, and the lack of removal of barriers to the construction of such facilities on educational institutions. 

These unrealized numbers are even more pale, recalling the International Energy Agency (IEA) report published in Israel Today last June, which pointed to the unrealized potential here. It stated that Israel is the first of the OECD countries and the second in the world in terms of production potential from consumption Of solar energy.

The regulatory revolution, which began around 2015, could not have materialized without a drastic drop in the production prices of solar panels around the world, mainly due to China's onslaught on the industry. 

"In China and India, a number of panels are produced in Israel every year," reveals Eitan Perens, founder and CEO of Green Energy Companies. To illustrate the changes in this world, Perens reveals that the price of silicon - the main raw material in solar panels - has fallen by 90% Was at its peak a few years ago.

And not just in Asia.

In the U.S., close to one-fifth of electricity consumption in the first eight months of 2019 comes from renewable energies, with an emphasis on solar and wind. 

Despite this there are also considerable disadvantages that cast a shadow over the sun in this race.

The over-reliance on renewable energy, for example, has led to high electricity prices in California (due to high consumption) and multiple power outages, as well as high consumer costs in Germany.

Not even that, but from next month the profit of those who own solar panels on the roof of their private home or business - is strangely about to be cut considerably.

This is because the tariff regulation for solar power generation will be reduced by about half.

Strange because while on the one hand the state seeks to give a boost to the industry, on the other hand it reduces the feasibility of installing the panels and joining new people.

In practice, this means that the amount of power allowed will drop from 300 kilowatts to 150 kilowatts, and the rate per kWh will be reduced from 45 to 41 cents (9% less). 150 kilowatts, can currently generate an income of about 40,000 shekels a year in a leasing model, which allows joining without self-investment and with the ability to request an upfront for some of the profits that will yield in 25 years.

On the other hand, if the same business owner waits for this coming January, the annual income will decrease to NIS 36,000 per year and over a period of about 25 years - by NIS 100,000.

This is also true for business owners with smaller roofs, but especially for large roof owners as the new tariff regulation will limit the power they can produce from their roof to 150 kilowatts and thus lose profitable and significant potential from their roof. 

Eran Tal, CEO of Volta Solar, explains: "The current tariff regulation is going to be cut by about 50% at the end of the year.

Business owners are unaware of the significant asset they have - their roof.

In days of economic uncertainty, it is time to install a solar system, which will become a passive income for the property owner. " 

The Electricity Authority responded: In January, a temporary order that exceptionally allowed during 2020 to receive a significantly higher tariff up to a facility size of 200 kilowatts will expire.

At the end of the temporary order, the high tariff will apply to facilities up to 100 kilowatts, as was the case before the temporary order, and for the power in excess of 100 kilowatts, the tariff linked to the competitive tenders will be eligible. "

"Roof panels are not enough"

At a less detailed glance, experts in the field of solar energy see the new venture as a big line for consumers.

"The government's decision to increase solar electricity production to 30% by 2030 is an important decision that will benefit the economy, the environment and also private consumers," says Yaki Neumann, CEO of the Doral Energy Group, one of Israel's leading companies in the field of renewable energy.

According to Neumann, in the last decade Israel has made great progress in the field and solar facilities have been established throughout the country, which together produce about 4,000 megawatts and constitute 10% of the total electricity production in Israel.

"The public's willingness to turn roofs and agricultural plots into income-producing properties is part of the group's effort, which contributes to the environment and reducing air pollution," Neumann explains, "but to meet goals it is not enough to place solar panels on roofs and buildings." A shan that has been approved for construction these days near the Springs Valley with an investment of half a billion shekels. " 

Doral Energy anticipates that the most significant change in the renewable energy market will come from storage technology.

"To meet the goals set, an orderly plan and government investment is needed to triple production threefold within a decade by investing in tenders and storage facilities based on storage, while allocating areas that will allow for significant production capacity," Neumann explains.

"Storage facilities will make it possible to disperse electricity production, which in the afternoon reaches an output of 90% -80% - over all hours of the day and not just when the radiation is strong. When this technology is integrated into existing facilities, then we will see a real revolution in the electricity economy."

One of the innovative solutions that the Doral Energy Group offers to farmers today is the construction of solar systems just above agricultural crops in the same field cell.

The project creates an economic safety net for farmers with income from the best tenant in Israel - the sun.

The method allows benefits for agriculture: the establishment of an innovative and advanced orchard with unique elements that will maximize the crop, and of course opens another profit channel for the farmer in partnership with the profits from the solar project in the orchard area.

Neumann is optimistic, despite everything.

"Already today, the cost of electricity production in solar facilities is tens of percent lower than the cost of production in power plants. Therefore, we expect a decrease in electricity prices for the private consumer, even if he himself does not own a private production facility."

Source: israelhayom

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