Israel unveils first of 50 solar power fields
JERUSAELM, June 5 (Reuters) - Israel's Arava Power unveiled the country's first commercial solar power plant on Sunday, showing it off to government ministers and dignitaries, and announced plans to erect dozens of other solar array fields, whose total cost could reach $2 billion.
The 100 million-shekel ($30 million), 4.95 megawatt plant in the agricultural community Kibbutz Keturah which is due to be hooked up to the national grid in the next few weeks, is the first of about 50 photovoltaic power fields that Arava said it will build throughout the southern Negev desert by the end of 2014.
Israel has set a goal of having 10 percent of the energy it consumes coming from renewable sources by 2020. But there is still some disagreement within the government on how best to proceed, which could delay Arava's plan.
Arava, which is 36 percent owned by German conglomerate Siemens, said it secured 80 percent of the funding for the Keturah plant from Bank Hapoalim, Israel's second-largest bank.
"Arava plans to build nearly 50 solar fields for well over 400 megawatts, an investment cost of roughly $2 billion," David Rosenblatt, the company's vice chairman, told Reuters.
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Website: Arava Power
