Israel plans solar farms along Gaza border

Gaza border credit: Eyal Izhar
Gaza border credit: Eyal Izhar

The solar farm will extend over 3,500-4,250 acres up to a distance of about 500 meters from the Gaza border fence.

As the security situation between Israel and Gaza escalates, the National Infrastructures Committee has toured the border area to promote plans for a national solar farm project. The project will be on "lost" land near the border, which is targeted by incendiary balloons and leaves farmers lethally vulnerable to the conflict and is only occasionally used for marginal crops such as wheat and potatoes.

The estimated cost of the project, at a total investment, including storage, is expected to be about NIS 4 billion. The solar farm will extend over 14,000-17,000 dunams (3,500-4,250 acres) up to a distance of about 500 meters from the Gaza border fence. The electricity production potential is estimated at about two gigawatts (about 2,000 megawatts), which constitutes about 15% of Israel's electricity production capacity. This is a national flagship program that is expected to be implemented in the near future along the Gaza border and later, to be copied along Israel's other borders.

The reason why it is so appropriate to implement the project in the current location is first and foremost due to scarce land resources, which make it difficult to deploy solar panels throughout the country. Another reason why the initiator of the project, Eshkol Regional Council Mayor Gadi Yarkoni, supports it and is strongly promoting it because the solar panels that will be deployed near the border will shelter farmers and help protect them from gunfire from the Gaza Strip. The project also receives support from the IDF, which sees it as a potential for creating peace on the basis of future economic cooperation between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

"Determined to promote the regulation to allow broad use of green energy"

The state has a deep commitment to the project both through the National Infrastructure Commission and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, which finances the planning. Ministry officials participated in the tour yesterday with representatives of the regional councils, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Defense, the Nature and Parks Authority, and the Aviv planning company. The national solar project is still in the early stages, but renewable energy companies are already looking to participate in it, as soon as the establishment phase begins.

Yarkoni said, "This is a reality-changing project, which will push Israel forward in the race against the clock to produce electricity from renewable energy, and be a significant economic growth engine for the region and contribute to regional security. After years, we will re-maximize use of the abandoned areas adjacent to the border. Eventually, all of the income from the project will help to continue developing and upgrading the community infrastructure in the surrounding settlements and despite the security challenges, we will build exemplary settlements."

Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council Mayor Ofir Libstein added, "The potential of the area surrounding Gaza for green energy and advanced agriculture is enormous. It is important that we know how to utilize it in an optimal way. We are committed to the issues of smart agriculture and are determined to advance the regulation to enable the widest possible use of green energy."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 27, 2023.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.

Gaza border credit: Eyal Izhar
Gaza border credit: Eyal Izhar
Amnon Shashua  credit: Eyal Izhar Shashua's Mentee Robotics unveils robot for manual work

MenteeBot V3.0 takes on lifting tasks that would typically be strenuous for human workers over extended periods.

New housing credit: Satenik Guzhanina Shutterstock 50% of housing deals in 2024 were developer loans

What made 2024 distinct was that 50% of deals involved special offers by contractors and developers for apartments not yet built, the Ministry of Finance reports.

Donald Trump  credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid Trump administration reaffirms AI chip restrictions on Israel

Sources say the US will demand Israel passes regulations to prevent tech leakage to China and may even include removal of the restrictions as part of a multilateral Middle East agreement.

Accountant General Yali Rothenberg credit: Cadya Levy Israel raises $5b international bond

Accountant General: This is an important public offering that indicates the financial stability of the State of Israel and the high confidence of global investors in the Israeli economy.

Check Point Chairman Gil Shwed and CEO Nadav Zafrir credit: Check Point Check Point teams with Wiz to challenge Palo Alto

The veteran cybersecurity company has formed a strategic partnership with Israeli company Wiz to provide end-to-end cloud security.

Mobileye autonomous taxi  credit: Mobileye Mobileye to team with Lyft on Robotaxis in Dallas

Ridesharing giant Lyft CEO David Risher said that his company will launch the robotaxis in Dallas in 2026.

Voyantis founders credit: Guy Sidi Israeli predictive AI co Voyantis raises $41m

Voyantis combines predictive and prescriptive AI to eliminate guesswork traditionally involved in assessing a customer’s potential value.

Karin Eibschitz Segal. credit: Ohad Falik Intel Israel CEO named interim head of DCAI

Intel Israel CEO Karin Eibschitz Segal has been appointed Intel's interim head of Intel's data center and artificial intelligence, the third most important position at the US chipmaker.

Shekel v dollar  credit: Tali Bogdanovsky using Adobe Firefly Shekel weaker amid hostage release uncertainties

Bank Hapoalim: This is a correction, the shekel will continue to strengthen.

Avi Simhon, Bezalel Smotrich and Yogev Gradus credit: Yossi Cohen, Noam Moskovich/Knesset Spokesperson, Amit Shabi/Yediot Ahronot Israeli gov't mulls tax cuts as deficit narrows

National Economic Council chairman Prof. Avi Simhon: If we are convinced this is a continuing trend, the first tax I would reduce is cutting VAT back to 17%.

Elbit Systems president and CEO Bezhalel Makhlis credit: Assaf Shilo Israel Sun Prioritizing Israel creates problems for Elbit

Ministry of Defense demands to supply Israel first has meant overseas deliveries have been delayed, irking the Philippines in particular.

monday.com co-CEOs eran Zinman and Roy Mann credit: Netanel Tobias monday.com soars on strong Q4 results

After beating the analysts on revenue and profit, the work operating systems company is now the fourth most valuable Israeli company on Wall Street.

Mark Zuckerberg credit: Reuters Manuel Orbegozo Meta lays off 40 in Israel

Meta (Facebook) is simultaneously laying off 5% of its employees at all the company's centers worldwide including in Israel.

Elbit Systems credit: Shutterstock Elbit awarded $100m European digital firing deal

The Israeli defense electronics company will provide a Joint National Digital Fire Command Center (JNDFC) to a European country and integrate it with the customer’s strategic and tactical firing platforms.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich credit Danny Shem Tov, Knesset Spokesperson Israel's fiscal deficit narrows after record state revenues

The improvement in the fiscal deficit follows all-time record state revenues of NIS 63.1 billion in January, and a fall in government spending.

Sender Cohen, Michael Eisenberg and Adam Fisher credit: Aleph, Eyal Izhar and Bessemer Investors raising $800m for Israeli research institute Nevo Labs

US investor Sender Cohen says Nevo Labs will focus on research for long term commercial development in three key research areas: AI, quantum computing, and synthetic biology.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018