The Ein Ayala quarry at Dor Beach and the Meretz Sewage Treatment Plant by Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh in the Hefer Valley on the northern coastal plain are the sites for the construction of an onshore natural gas terminal for offshore gas fields recommended by the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources planning team. Last night, the team distributed its preliminary environmental survey of the five options for the terminal.
The survey will be submitted to the National Planning and Building Council, which will decide in the coming weeks whether to approve the two recommendations.
A committee chaired by Prime Minister's Office director general Harel Locker has set an August 2013 deadline for completing the planning procedures for building the gas terminal. The terminal, which will be built on a 120-dunam (30-acre) site, is considered a critical infrastructure facility which will receive gas from the Leviathan field and future gas field discoveries. Without a northern gas terminal, all of Israel's natural gas will flow through a single pipeline, putting Israel in ever-heightening jeopardy as natural gas is increasingly used for the generation of power.
The State Comptroller report, published last week, says that natural gas will power 70% of Israel's electricity generation, despite warnings from experts against raising the percentage from above the current proportion of 40-50%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 24, 2012
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