"It's goodbye to alternative energy"

Infrastructures Ministry director-general Hezi Kugler has condemned Finance Ministry footdragging over solar energy.

Ministry of National Infrastructures director general Hezi Kugler has roundly condemned the Ministry of Finance over its opposition to the program for promoting alternative energies in the Negev Arava Valley.

Speaking yesterday at the 25th Convention of Electrical & Electronic Engineers in Eilat Kugler said, "The national infrastructures minister recently contacted the Finance Ministry and wanted to know where alternative energies were in the program. The answer he got was that it needed an effective program that generates revenue rather than taking up subsidies. So that means we can say kaddish for the renewable energy program. The Finance Ministry is more interested in penny pinching than seeing the bigger picture."

As reported by "Globes", the Ministry of Finance opposes the publication of an additional tender for the building of a 250-megawatt solar-fired power plant in the Eilat region, until the tender process for the solar power plants in Ashelim is complete. The Ministry of National Infrastructures, on the other hand, is insisting on a new tender every year in order to meet the target of generating 20% of Israel's electricity by renewable energies.

"The Ministry of Finance wants us to stop and assess the economic gain that alternative energies are likely to generate. Surveys in other places show that the public is willing to pay 20-30% more for alternative energy. We can supply energy from the resource that we have here (the sun) and increase our energy security. These are the right considerations. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Finance is doing everything it can to stop this going before the cabinet because they know there won't be a single minister who will vote against it," said Kugler.

Kugler added that he believed that Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) would not be allowed to build additional coal-fired power plants. "I did a lot of work to help move forward the coal-fired power plant in Ashkelon (Project D). Building further plants like these in the future is out of the question. For the foreseeable future, the technologies will be based on natural gas."

The Ministry of Finance has not yet responded to Kugler's allegations. However sources close to the ministry commented, "The issue holding up the entry of solar energy is not the tenders, but the lack of available land. Instead of wasting time making accusations, Kugler (the National Infrastructures Ministry director general) would be well advised to start unraveling the bureaucratic labyrinth currently delaying the approval of new sites, and the erecting of solar receivers on rooftops."

IEC CEO Amos Lasker told the conference that if given approval by the government, his company would also enter the alternative energy market and collaborate with developers. IEC chairman Moti Friedman warned that if the Public Utilities Authority (Electricity) reduced tariffs and consumption increased, IEC would have difficulty shutting down power plants to allow the installation of devices to reduce pollutant emissions, because of the lack of a power reserve.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 4, 2008

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

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