Israeli regulator grants grid access to 2.5 GW of renewables
Israel’s Electricity Authority has approved a 2.5 GW capacity extension plan for renewable energy. The initiative will enable the connection of plants in the southern and northern parts of the country.
The Israeli Electricity Authority has approved the connection of up to 2.5 GW of renewables to the grid, according to a statement from the county’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. Most of the plants will be connected in the northern and southern periphery of the country.
“We are turning Israel into a renewable energy empire,” said Minister Israel Katz. “We will make clean energy, store it, and sell it to other countries. We are creating operations for now and the day after the war with Hamas.”
The regulator will permit the connection of 2,300 MW to 2,500 MW of renewable energy to the grid during the daytime and 1,000 MW during the night, with 1,000 MW to 1,200 MW to be directed to the low-voltage network.
In September, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said that it would enable the connection of 2,000 MW of renewable energy, as it recalculated national grid capacity. It said that grid congestion was the main reason for halting the connection of new renewable plants.
The Israeli government has allocated ILS 17 billion ($4.4 billion) to address grid congestion in the country. Noga is leading the project, which aims to enable the integration of additional renewable production plans and storage facilities into the grid by 2030.
The country mainly has PV at its disposal to increase its generation capacity, with around 5 GW already installed. The renewables target is 20% of generation by 2025 and 30% by 2030.