The money is part of a broader ministerial effort to “aggressively implement and encourage renewable energy.”
By SHARON UDASINSolar Panels 311(photo credit: REUTERS)
Building upon the July cabinet decision to increase renewable energy quotas and incentives in a series of new amendments, the National Infrastructure Ministry will be allocating NIS 13 million to entrepreneurial projects in renewable energy, the ministry announced in a statement on Wednesday.The money is part of a broader ministerial effort to “aggressively implement and encourage renewable energy” and will help finance demonstration and pioneer projects that might make a significant contribution to the electricity market and steer Israel toward energy independence, the statement said.
Specific projects of interest include those involved in reducing world dependence on oil, particularly in automobiles, as well as new technologies in the solar, wind and biogas markets, according to the ministry. Each project can receive grants of up to NIS 1.5m.- 2m. if the projects are part of international collaborations that might influence the global energy field – with up to 50 percent of the total project financing covered by the ministry, the statement explained. Applicants will be selected based on their specific technology, business plans and management structure, according to the ministry.“The plan joins a variety of subsidies that are being granted by the chief scientist of the National Infrastructure Ministry and aims to enable examination and demonstration of technologies that are crucial to the energy market,” the statement said.The total NIS 13m. allocation partially stems from the original July amendments, in which the cabinet determined that the chief scientist’s office in the ministry would oversee an addition of 50 megawatts and NIS 10m. from the government for renewable energy research.The additional NIS 3m. will probably come from the Prime Minister’s Office, as part of the national plan to find oil substitutes, a spokeswoman for the ministry told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.“The investment in the development of Israeli technology in the electricity market was placed as an unequivocal condition in the formulation of the National Infrastructure Ministry plan to advance renewable energy,” said Minister Dr. Uzi Landau in the statement. “Providing incentives for demonstration projects will enable Israel to be a leader in the field and development of sources of employment to the market.”
