Israel Looks Next Door to Build Solar Plants And Cut Emissions
Israel Looks Next Door to Build Solar Plants And Cut Emissions
(Bloomberg) -- Israel is in talks to build solar energy plants in neighboring countries as part of its plans to cut carbon emissions and bolster its green technology sector.
Discussions are underway for potential joint projects in Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus and countries further afield, said Yair Pines, director general of the prime minister’s office. Progress depends in part on developing adequate transmission and storage systems.
The sites will be built in countries with more idle land than densely-populated Israel, which will provide its technological know-how, Pines said. The plants will be connected to the power grids of partners in the project.
“Our neighbors have lots of open land, something we don’t have. We have the technology,” Pines said in an interview in Jerusalem. “It’s reasonable that this vision will turn into reality in the coming years.”
Read more: UAE’s Masdar Plans to Participate in Israeli Solar Bid Rounds
Israel announced last month plans to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has promised to roll out green infrastructure and develop carbon capture and storage technology to help meet those goals. After years of slow progress in renewable energy, Israel now aims to triple production to 30% of its electricity use by the end of the decade.
To meet that target, Bennett has instructed officials to identify and remove regulatory roadblocks to startups working on environmentally-friendly technology. The government will also allow firms to use national infrastructure like army bases and hospitals as testing grounds for their technology, with the aim of speeding up development.
The government is also considering to help green technology companies that are struggling to attract funding through matching investment plans with other countries or leveraging ties to major investors like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he said.
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