The National Planning and Building Commission at the Ministry of Interior today approved the land use for the construction of the 250-megawatt solar power station at Ashelim in the Negev. The approval came after the Ministry of National Infrastructures and IDF reached a deal on releasing fire zones for the power station.
The commission approved the land use at a special session, after a meeting two weeks ago broke up after failing to reach an agreement with the IDF, which objected to releasing fire zones. Ministry of Interior director general and National Planning Commission chairman Arie Bar then asked the Ministry of National Infrastructures and IDF to find a solution to the problem.
The National Planning Commission approved the land for the solar power station in accordance with National Outline Plan 10, the plan for power plants. The approval lifts the barriers to the publication of the tender by the Ministry of National Infrastructures for the construction of the solar power stations at Ashelim.
The Ashelim site will include both solarthermal and photovoltaic power stations. It is Israel's first national solar power station project, and is part of the government policy to develop renewable energy sources for electricity production.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 17, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009