Platts Renewable Energy Report January 12, 2009

The Israeli government’s inter-ministerial committee on solar energy has approved groups participating in the pre­ qualifying round for constructing two 125-MW solar thermal power plants and for a 15-MW solar photovoltaic plant, with an option to double the size of the PV facility.

The plants are to be located at Ashalim in the southern Negev desert. The tenders for the projects are set to be issued in June. Details can be obtained at the National Infrastructure Ministry web site www.mni.gov.il.

The groups in the solar thermal tender are: Ormat Industries; Shafir Civil and Marine Engineering; Israel Corp; Housing and Construction along with Solel Solar Systems; Luz II along with Veolia Environment subsidiary Dalkia Israel; Clal Energy along with Spain’s Abengoa Bioenergy; and Germany’s Solar Millennium along with Minrav Holdings and Dor Alon Energy.

The groups bidding for the PV project are: Israel’s Housing and Construction Holding Company and Spain’s Elecnor Group; Clal Energy with Spain’s Abengoa Bioenergy; Granite Hacarmel Investments, Bronfman Fischer Investments and an unnamed European partner; Sapir Civil and Marine Engineering and Germany’s Siemens; Paz Oil company and an unnamed Spanish partner; Minrav Holdings, Dor Alon Energy and solar water heater maker Chromagen; Israel Corp and Canada’s Skypower Corp; and the UK’s EDF Energy and Dutch company Stoomhamer Business Group along with Germany’s Solon.