Israel starts tenders for desalination, solar power plants

The interministerial tenders committees for seawater desalination and solar power plants on Wednesday invited companies to declare their interest in establishing a new desalination facility in the Western Galilee and a large power plant southwest of Dimona.

The publication of pre-qualification tender forms for the construction and operation of the desalination plant, located north of Acre, follows the government’s approval of a strategic plan in June 2018 to cope with the impact of long-term drought. The plant will be capable of producing at least 100 million cubic meters per year of drinking water.

Once the new facility is operational, it and six other desalination plants across Israel are expected to provide approximately 85% to 90% of national household and municipal potable water needs.

“Last week, the housing cabinet approved the statutory plan for the construction of a desalination plant in the Western Galilee, after a decade during which the state worked to approve the plan,” said Accountant-General Rony Hizkiyahu. “The facility in this location is essential for the water market and will ensure continued and proper water supply to the area in future.”

According to documents published by the seawater desalination committee on Wednesday, the Western Galilee plant will be located about 1 km. inland, adjacent to the Golani Brigade’s Shraga training base, and will desalinate water from the Mediterranean Sea through reverse osmosis technology.

Desalinated water will be supplied throughout the year, in accordance with seasonality supply regulations. If required, the plant will be able to supply additional water to the Kinneret.

The solar power plant, the country’s largest to date, will stretch across 3 sq.km. of terrain. Construction work on the 300 MW solar farm is expected to commence next year and finish in 2023.

For the first time, the tender is expected to require the use of battery-based energy storage technology, enabling increased flexibility in electricity supply.

“This is a significant step, alongside many other initiatives, to realize the [Energy] Ministry’s policies of increasing its targets for electricity generation from renewable energy by 2030,” said Energy Ministry director-general Udi Adiri.