Israel’s bid to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 has prompted them to participate in what are known as feed-in tariffs for electricity supplied by independent private suppliers. These feed-in tariffs apply to electricity that is supplied by renewable or “clean” sources such as geo-thermal power, solar and wind energy, and biomass energy.

Hevrat HaHashmal (The Israeli Electric Corporation) has agreed to participate in this program and is offering attractive prices for entrepreneurs and investors alike.  This opportunity will allow consumers in Israel to be able to generate their own electricity using solar power and wind turbines and sell the surplus back to the national grid.

The Israel Public Utility Authority approved the feed-in tariff policy in June, 2008, for small domestic and commercial plants; by agreeing to purchase the electricity within the following guidelines:  

* The plan is limited to a total “feed in” output of 50 MW over a seven year period (rates vary if providing wind power).
* The Israel Electric Company is obligated to purchase all photovoltaic (PV) produced electricity at the feed-in tariff rate for a 20 year period.
* A maximum amount of 15 kWp of electricity is to be allocated for the domestic sector, with 50 kWp designated for the business sector.
* The electricity systems must be installed on an already built structure.
* The proposed feed-in tariff rate is to be NS 2.01 per kwh  for electricity produced by PV systems. This is a higher rate that that from normally produced electricity which runs to NS 0.50, subject to price adjustment.

Israel is already the world leader in solar hot water systems with more than 85% of dwellings powered by solar hot water, far ahead of the rest of the world. Israel’s landspace for installing residential renewable energy systems is similar to American states such as Arizona, California, Texas, and many others with heaps of sunshine.  

The popularity of this feed-in tariff program started in Germany more than 10 years ago and has extended to countries such as Australia, Austria, Brazil, and Canada as well as some states in the US.

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