Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot
This helps protect our community. Learn more

Israeli Solar Tech Brings Light to Rural Africa (Pt. 3)

i24NEWS English
636K subscribers
379 views 6 years ago
TRENDING | Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, had a dream to turn the Negev desert, which comprises over 50 percent of Israel's territory, into an oasis. The start? A solar project capable to powering most of the area it's located in. Our Emily Frances has the story. Story: For thousands of years, the sands of Israel’s desert stood barren until 1955, when Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion had a vision — one that predicted the future of innovation and creativity in the region that makes up over half of Israel’s land mass. ‘It’s a very unique place we want to conserve it develop it and to bring young spirits, you have to be innovative,’ CEO Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Dorit Banet comments. His prophecy is already coming to pass. An oasis of renewable solar energy power plants in Ashalim near the Dead Sea is not only bringing jobs but this plant alone is electrifying 60,000 homes in nearby kibbutzim without using fo …...more
...more
Israeli Solar Tech Brings Light to Rural Africa (Pt. 3)
9Likes
379Views
2018Dec 24
TRENDING | Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, had a dream to turn the Negev desert, which comprises over 50 percent of Israel's territory, into an oasis. The start? A solar project capable to powering most of the area it's located in. Our Emily Frances has the story. Story: For thousands of years, the sands of Israel’s desert stood barren until 1955, when Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion had a vision — one that predicted the future of innovation and creativity in the region that makes up over half of Israel’s land mass. ‘It’s a very unique place we want to conserve it develop it and to bring young spirits, you have to be innovative,’ CEO Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Dorit Banet comments. His prophecy is already coming to pass. An oasis of renewable solar energy power plants in Ashalim near the Dead Sea is not only bringing jobs but this plant alone is electrifying 60,000 homes in nearby kibbutzim without using fossil fuel. ‘Back in 2007, we said we wanted 100 percent of this region to be powered by the sun by 2020 and everyone was against and everyone said it’s impossible. Today, we at 70 percent and by 2020 well be at 100 percent. So, that’s light,’ Energiya Global CEO Yosef Abramowitz explains. The 100-mile Arava Valley between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, known as the Eilat-Eilot region and is considered the birthplace of Israel’s solar revolution. American visionary Josef Abramowitz and his team built this 40 megawatt solar field, the first of its kind in the Middle East. It’s not only delivering literal and metaphorical energy to the 5000 families living on 10 local kibbutzim. ‘Each kibbutz is having half-a-million to four million a year in income from solar. It’s an amazing new income,’ Banet says. But also, short circuiting fossil fuels by radiating the sun’s energy to 70 percent of the city of Eilat, which fuels 1tens of thousands of homes and hotels with cleaner, less expensive electricity. ‘Israel can be a superpower of goodness with the best water, green water agricultural tech, which is what most people in the world need,’ Abramowitz comments. Among the topics at the annual Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference was how to pave the way for environmental tech that will snuff out air pollution. ‘There are a lot of people who die in Israel of early death and suffer from different illnesses because of air pollution. Then, in next 12 years, we’re going to stop using coal in State of Israel. That is a revolution. Sun, sun and sun again; it’s going to create a much healthier environment for citizens of State of Israel,’ Environmental Protection Ministry Director General Yisrael Dancziger tells. Another topic of importance is the future of energy storage, to save the solar energy produced during the day for night time use. It’s a challenging formula that long time renewable energy pioneer Avi Brenmiller and his team are trying to solve. ‘What will we do with batteries six to seven years from now? We have mountains of batteries. So, we have to find a way to recycle them. Otherwise, it’s not a solution, because it’s not clean,’ CEO Avi Brenmiller explains. For more, see our ⬇ Website Articles: https://www.i24news.tv/en Live: https://video.i24news.tv/page/live?cl... (Subscription) Replay: https://video.i24news.tv/page/5ab29a7... (Subscription) Social Media Facebook:   / i24newsen   Twitter:   / i24news_en   Instagram:   / i24news  

Follow along using the transcript.

i24NEWS English

636K subscribers