Israel's Ministry of Defense and Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources will fund development of technology that will make it possible to build wind turbines farms in the Golan Heights without disrupting the activity of the IDF and the air force in the area.
The new agreement, which will regulate the construction and operation of hundreds of wind turbines in the north for producing electricity, was signed by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Utilities Authority (Electricity). Joint funding for developing the new technology will total NIS 250 million.
Ministry of Defense director general (res.) Maj. Gen. Udi Adam and Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources director general Udi Adiri signed the agreement yesterday. The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources gave no details about the technology involved, but sources said that the solution would make it possible to operate wind turbines in the Golan Heights without disturbing regular operational activity by the air force and army in the area.
The Ministry of Defense said that when the technological development is completed, a number of ventures that are currently in the planning stages would go forward in the following years.
"The Ministry of Defense regards renewable energy projects as very important," Adam said. "In this belief, we have invested many resources in this agreement, and together with the IDF, we have agreed to take calculated risks. The technology solution will strike the proper balance between defense needs and those of the energy sector and environmental protection, and we will implement it."
Adiri welcomed the new agreement, saying, "We have utilized all possible measures in order to promote renewable energy, which requires dealing with many defense, economic, planning, and other challenges."
The Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources added that the agreement was an important milestone on the way to attaining the 2030 targets set by Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources Dr. Yuval Steinitz, while developing an electricity sectors based on clean energy, including solar energy, among other things.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 1, 2020
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