Applications & Installations

EDF switches on 40 MW of solar in Israel, selling power at $0.0223/kWh

French energy company EDF has built a new 40 MW solar farm in Ashalim, in Israel’s Negev Desert.

By

Emiliano Bellini

20 Jul 2023

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A 30 MW solar plant built by Belectric in Israel | Image: Belectric

The Israeli government said this week that French energy giant EDF has commissioned a 40 MW solar power plant in Ashalim, a small community in southern Israel’s Negev Desert.

The facility is the fourth PV project built by the French company in the area. In 2018, it also completed the Pduyim (14 MW), Mefalsim (13 MW), and Kfar Maimon (7 MW) solar projects, which the Israeli authorities selected in a tender in 2017.

The new solar plant in Ashalim will sell power to the grid at a tariff of ILS 0.08 ($0.0223)/kWh, which the government said is the cheapest price paid for energy and solar power in Israel to date.

According to the Israeli government, Ashalim currently hosts 312 MW of operational solar capacity. In May 2023, the Israel Land Authority launched a tender to lease 28,000 acres (11,331 hectares) in the Negev Desert for the deployment of large-scale solar power plants.

The country mainly has PV at its disposal to increase its generation capacity, with around 5 GW already installed. The renewables target is 20% of generation by 2025 and 30% by 2030.

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Emiliano Bellini
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