Time to act
Israel is paying the price for dependence on fossil fuels in the form of a stagnant energy economy that pollutes the air we breathe and contributes to global warming.
IUED believes that half a decade into the 21st century, Israel must commit to a new clean energy policy that will benefit the economy, aid compliance with international agreements on climate change, and bring about early, dramatic improvements in environmental quality, for the benefit of all Israelis.
Electric power plants are a major source of air pollution, and IUED is challenging any expansion of Israel's current model of power production. Under our Smart Energy initiative we are pressing for adoption of renewable energies and improvement in energy efficiency.
Israel is at a crucial crossroads with regard to the country’s energy sector. The road taken will impact on the country’s future environment, public health and economy.
Israel's electricity economy
Electricity generation in Israel is almost entirely handled by the monopolistic Israel Electric Corporation. Staggeringly, Israel’s electricity consumption grew by an average of 7.5 per cent per year throughout the 1990s, a very high growth rate even taking into account massive immigration and the rise in living standards.
With exclusive rights for production, distribution, supply and sale of electricity, the IEC has a vested interest in maintaining constant growth. Its production is locked into dependence on imported, heavily polluting fossil fuels.
To meet rising demand, the IEC is counting on the construction by 2010 of a $1 billion coal-fired power plant, the second to be sited in the coastal town of Ashkelon, south of Tel Aviv. Environmentalists believe this is a retrograde move that bucks global trends; the plan is also opposed by Israel’s Health, Environment and Finance Ministries. IUED has challenged the IEC's plan in the High Court of Justice, and the National Infrastructures Council will decide its fate later this year.
Natural gas – but not yet
Upgrading of the IEC's aging and polluting plants has been repeatedly postponed because of the “imminent” availability of natural gas from off-shore reserves. The introduction of natural gas – one of the cleanest combustible fuels - has been mired in political, financial and security problems and to date only one minor power plant is functioning on natural gas. The government aims for natural gas's share of the energy market to be 25 per cent by 2025.
Solar power – just a little
Astoundingly, this sun-drenched corner of the Mediterranean makes little use of solar power beyond domestic water heaters that offset fossil fuel use by a tiny 3 percent. Large-scale solar generation is yet to happen: while innovative Israeli technology is snapped up in California and Spain, Israel’s first major solar-thermal installation in the Negev is still on the drawing board. Israel has yet to get serious about the potential for wind power beyond its current token installation in the Golan; a second plant is opposed because of its proposed location. (See more about solar power in "Let the Sunshine In")
Renewables?
The economic and environmental advantages of energy efficiency and renewable energies are driving sustainable energy development plans in North America and the European Union. Governments are introducing a range of policy reforms, tax credits and other incentives to reach target market shares ranging between 12 and 20 percent for renewable energies by 2010. In sharp contrast, Israel’s November 2002 government policy decision aims very low: a modest 2 percent energy market share for renewables by 2007.
Energy efficiency
The concept of energy efficiency – a primary tool for reducing power demand – is ignored by the IEC and the Infrastructure Ministry, and the Government has reneged on its legal obligation to conserve energy in national institutions and government offices, and refrains from promoting power conservation.