IEC to advise Indian co on solar fields

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) will provide consulting services to an Indian government company is developing and building a solar field supplying 8,000 megawatts in Gujarat, India. This venture, is it gets off the ground, will be far larger than the solar fields built to date in Israel. The largest solar field in Israel has produces 55 megawatts. In March, IEC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government company Hindustan Salt and its subsidiary, for IEC to share its expertise in the development and deployment of the project, subject to the results of the feasibility study.

Israeli regulations prohibit IEC from developing solar fields in Israel, and, as far as is known, it has not built a single solar field abroad. So it is unclear what exactly the company means when it touts its “expertise” in the field. Any international activity on the part of IEC requires approval from the Government Companies Authority (GCA). The GCA is delaying the establishment of a subsidiary that is meant to coordinate business activities abroad. In October, 2012, IEC submitted a request to register the subsidiary in Cyprus, but the GCA rejected it on the grounds that the scale of activity awarded to the company was too large. IEC then reduced the planned framework of activity by 50%, to just $10 million. IEC then approached the GCA again in December, 2012, and asked to register the company in Cyprus, but the request has not yet been answered.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 8, 2014

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