French renewable energy group EDF Renewables announced the commissioning of five separate solar PV facilities in Israel last week, worth a total of 110 megawatts (MW).
Pduyim solar farm
A world leader in renewable electricity, EDF Renewables announced the commissioning of five solar PV plants worth 110 MW last Wednesday, projects the company hopes will help it meet the objectives of parent company EDF Group’s CAP 2030 plan which aims to double its global renewable energy capacity between 2015 and 2050 by up to 50 gigawatts (GW).
The five solar plants commissioned in Israel include the 60 MW Mashabei Sadeh project, the 14 MW Pduyim project, the 13 MW Mefalsim project, the 7 MW Kfar Maimon project, and the 7 MW Bitha project. All are located in the Negev Desert in southern Israel and consist of approximately 307,400 solar panels spread across close to 130 hectares.
“The commissioning of these photovoltaic power plants reinforces EDF Renewables’ leading position in Israel, where we already have over 25% of the installed capacity from renewable energy sources,” said Bruno Bensasson, EDF Executive Vice-President in charge of Renewable Energies and Chief Executive Officer of EDF Renewables. “Through its CAP 2030 strategy in France and globally, EDF is delighted to contribute here to the fight against Climate change in Israel, with strong ambitions in solar, storage, and wind power.”
Four of the five solar PV facilities were won in a mid-2017 tender at the lowest-ever tariff awarded in Israel of €47 ($53) per MW-hour (MWh), while the fifth project, the 60 MW Mashabei Sadeh solar power plant, was acquired at the project stage in a separate deal in 2017. The five projects now bring EDF Renewables operating solar projects in Israel up to 17 worth nearly 300 MW.
EDF Renewables currently boasts 28 GW worth of installed renewable energy capacity and will look to increase that to over 50 GW by 2030 with a mixture of wind, solar, marine, and hydro electricity.