Israel considering deal with Jordan on solar energy – report

Israel is considering a partnership with Jordan to buy solar power from it in order to reach a target of renewable energy that would see an increase from 5% to 30% by 2030, according to a Guardian report Sunday, citing a letter from Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.According to the letter,  Steinitz told environmental activists that Israel is initiating a pilot program that would result in Jordan transferring 25 megawatts to Israel’s national grid, which would be able to power thousands of homes. EcoPeace, an organization consisting of Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian environmentalists, has been advocating for more partnerships in the region, noting that Israel, by accessing Jordan’s larger amount of land and more frequent sunshine, will be able to buy electricity at a cheaper price than producing it by itself. “Electricity has never crossed the Israeli border from any neighboring country,” Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director of EcoPeace, told The Guardian.“We are calling for a Middle East green deal,” Bromberg added. The report noted that EcoPeace shared Steinitz’s letter with the Jordanian government, in a bid to get the ball rolling on a potential deal. Jordan already buys natural gas from Israel.  Despite the potential of an agreement, EcoPeace warned that any Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank would jeopardize an Israel-Jordan partnership on solar energy. The potential of an agreement on solar energy comes following an announcement by the Energy Ministry in June about an NIS 80 billion proposal to increase the percentage of renewable energy being used from 5% to 30% of Israel’s total consumption. The majority of Israel energy is currently derived from natural gas and coal, both of which are fossil fuels.While Israel does maintain solar energy plants in the Negev desert, the lack of available land in the area, which is also used by localities and the IDF, makes expanding in the area difficult. Achiam Tigger, the CEO at Negev Energy Operation and Maintenance, noted the difficulties of expanding solar energy in the Negev. “It’s a challenge,” Tigger said to The Guardian. “We do see a lot of moving projects… but to say that it will not be challenging to meet these dates and percentage, would not be true.”EcoPeace also believes that an Israel-Jordan partnership on solar energy will help spur reconciliation between the two former enemies, with the two having been in a state of “Cold Peace” since the 1994 peace agreement. “The tensions and issue of annexation have held up discussions,” said Bromberg, “but we are hopeful.”
Source