First solar energy systems installed in West Bank

Friendly Energy has set up two photovoltaic systems at Har Gilo.

Friendly Energy, which sets up solar energy systems using photovoltaic technology, recently installed two systems at the settlement of Har Gilo in Gush Etzion on the West Bank. The company says that these are the first two domestic solar installations (with an output of up to 4 kilowatts) in Judea and Samaria. The power produced is being sold to the Israel Electric Corporation under a 20-year contract at NIS 2.04 per kilowatt-hour.

This high rate was set after the Infrastructures Ministry's decision last February to allocate a special quota of 2 megawatts to Judea and Samaria to compensate the region's residents, who so far have been denied the possibility of participating in the solar energy market. This is due to the fact that the Planning and Building Law did not apply to Judea and Samaria.

Installation of the systems at Har Gilo installed systems was made possible only after a special permit was obtained from the staff officer in charge of electricity in the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria. Unlike the power economy within the Green Line, which operates under the Electricity Law, power in the West Bank is administered by the Civil Administration.

Friendly Energy CEO Danny Denan said that the company would soon start installing two more solar systems in the West Bank, in settlements in the Jordan Valley.

Friendly Energy says it has an orders backlog for 30 additional photovoltaic systems across the country, with total output of 1.5 megawatts, and worth NIS 21million.

Since starting operations in 2009, the company has completed the installation of 40 solar systems in the domestic and commercial sectors.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 18, 2010

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010

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