ENVIRONMENT: ISRAEL'S FIRST SOLAR POWER TENDER NIGH

by ANSAmed

After years of delay, Israel's first tender for a solar power plant appears set to get off the ground. According to Israeli economic website Globes, the Ministries of Finance and National Infrastructures will soon publish the BOT (build, operate, transfer) tender for the Negev solar power plant at Ashelim, in the southern Negev desert region in the country's south. The tender will be for the construction of two power stations that will generate 250 megawatts altogether, amounting to 2.5% of Israel's power production. The project's cost is estimated at $300 million. Minister of National Infrastructures Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said that construction of the Ashelim solar power station was another step by the ministry towards meeting the government's target of generating 10% of Israel's electricity production from renewable sources by 2020.