A decision by the Electricity Authority to assist biogas producers will save the innovative field, which is an alternative to the production of electricity from polluting materials, which has entered many difficulties due to difficult bureaucracy.
Biogas technology is a renewable energy power generation technology that allows waste and other organic materials to be used to generate electricity.
Many developers, who are promoting 100-megawatt installations, have registered with the Electricity Authority to regulate the construction of such facilities, but due to difficulties in constructing the facility, with an emphasis on obtaining building permits and necessary regulatory approvals, they will not be able to meet the commercial operating dates set for them.
Economic implications in the energy sector, Photo: AP
This failure to comply would have led to the forfeiture of guarantee money deposited by the developers as part of the registration for the project, a forfeiture that would have effectively eliminated the field in Israel.
In its decision, the Authority allows developers to extend the date of commercial operation and the eligibility for the tariff, thereby ensuring the advancement of large-scale projects, advancing the meeting of renewable energy targets and giving a tremendous boost to the field of waste treatment.
Will not be enough to meet activation dates
In 2011, the Authority established a regulation (conditions of eligibility for tariffs) that broadly supports the field of electricity production using biogas technologies in anaerobic digestion facilities, through a beneficial and attractive tariff.
Recently, after examining the field conducted by the Authority's staff, it was discovered that many facilities that registered for regulation and received a positive response and reserved a place for them on the network, will not be able to meet the commercial operation dates to which the developers have committed, mainly due to problems in the regulatory processes necessary for the construction of the facility.
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The Authority has now decided to support these projects and allow a three-year extension on the dates that entitle the founders to the special tariff. This decision will enable the construction of facilities with an installed capacity of more than 100 MW, which produce electricity using renewable energy most of the day and all seasons, unlike other renewable technologies. The decision will also assist waste treatment efforts in Israel on a large scale each year.
Electricity Authority Chairman Amir Shavit: "The Authority has made a decision that will significantly help save the biogas market in Israel and promote about 100 megawatts of electricity from recycling organic waste. This is after years of problems and difficult bureaucracy in the field."
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