290 MW Of Solar PV Added To Israel’s Development Quota

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290 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity has been added to Israel’s development quota as a result of altered quotas for concentrated solar power (CSP) and wind energy.

The decision to make the switch is the result of the country’s recognition of the comparatively lower costs and greater ease of solar PV development as compared to CSP or wind energy. The decision was made by Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Promoting Renewable Energy.


Altogether, Israel had previously planned for the development of 200 MW worth of CSP, 70 MW worth of large-scale wind energy, and 20 MW worth of small-scale wind energy — the resources that would have been used to develop this infrastructure will now be used for the development of more solar PV capacity.

PV Tech has more:

According to the ministerial committee, over the next 20 years, ILS2 billion ($566 million) could be saved by shifting the quota to PV plants. Israel has a target in place of generating 10% of the nation’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. The Jerusalem Post reported that the committee also believes the quota shift will make this target more readily achievable. The move has a recent precedent, with 300 MW similarly shifted in late 2012 from wind energy to solar.

Also, according to the Jerusalem Post, debts owed by developers of projects in the disputed West Bank territories will be underwritten by the state, due to the unwillingness of private institutions to provide financing once long-term political instability and other factors have been taken into account.

The switch certainly makes sense in a way. Something to note, though — while CSP is somewhat more expensive than solar PV, there are a number of advantages to the technology as well. Among the advantages, perhaps the most prominent is the fact that the technology is influenced less by short-term drops in sunlight. Large-scale wind is generally cheaper than solar PV. However, solar PV tends to generate electricity much more at times of high electricity demand (and, thus, high electricity prices).


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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