Energy and Environmental Technologies
The driving forces for the development of solar energy technologies and water recycling and desalination, stem from the geographic conditions of Israel - abundance of sunny hours, 50% of arid zone and lack of oil resources.
Israel has harnessed innovative technologies to generate significant energy needs from the sun and reduce its fuel import bills and pollution.
Israel is also a leader in research applications of other renewable energy sources including wind energy and generating energy from industrial and biological waste.
Israel has developed desalination technology - the reverse osmosis process, which can desalinate seawater for less than 50 cents per cubic meter.
In addition to energy and water treatment Israeli firms have developed on-site compact sewage systems methods for the treatment of sewage, medical and biological waste, toxic waste, and municipal sludge and solid waste. Enterprises have also developed technologies for toxin monitors for air and water, and the prevention of industrial air pollution.
In total more than 200 Israeli companies have developed technologies and products related to energy and the environment.
Strong Academic Base
Research is led by the country's seven universities, as well as a range of academic colleges and government R&D centers. Promising and diverse research projects in the area of solar energy have already produced some unprecedented developments in the field of solar energy. Research projects are taking place in the Ben Gurion National Solar Energy Center, the Ben-Gurion University (parabolic troughs and a parabolic dish) and the Weizmann Institute (solar furnace and central receiver tower), the latter with the active participation of industry.
Areas of Expertise
Solar Energy
The Israeli company Solel is a leader in solar thermal power/energy plants and solar collectors. Its technology has set global standards for utility solar plants and high temperature parabolic troughs. Solel purchased most of the assets of Luz Industries that had built the three of world's largest solar power plants in the Mojave Desert in Southern California, producing 354 MW of solar electricity which accounts for 90% of the world's solar thermal power production. Solel thus became a major world player in solar thermal power.
Photovoltaics
Israel is also a world leader in photovoltaics with among other projects an innovative method for producing silicon solar cells either from high efficiency, single crystal cells or amorphous silicon thin layers. New thin-film materials are also being investigated for potential PV use.
Geothermal Energy
While geothermal energy is not strictly speaking a renewable resource, the vast amounts of geothermal water beneath Israel's Negev desert and in other parts of the world dose make it worth exploiting. Geothermal power plants, up to 130MW, have been developed and this warm saline water resource has proven effective in growing crops like tomatoes and melons.
The Israeli company Ormat - a world leader in Energy Converters which use locally available heat sources, including geothermal energy (steam and hot water), industrial waste heat, solar energy, biomass, and low grade fuels - is today the basis for dozens of geothermal power plants ranging from 200 kW to over 130 MW all over the world.
Applications
Energy:
- Roof-top solar collectors for warming water - used by more than 70% of Israeli homes and many commercial and industrial buildings, generating some 6% of the country's energy needs.
- Photovoltaic cells are also used on rooftops as well as for street lighting and other roadside applications.
- In the late 1980's one Israeli company developed parabolic troughs, which were used to generate electricity from solar energy for entire towns in Southern California. But the decrease in the price of oil rendered this system uneconomical.
- A large part of the energy in Israel's most northerly region is generated from wind using windmill like installations.
- Utilizing bio-conversion technologies including exploiting the waste from cowsheds.
- Generating bio-gas from sewage and waste produced by food processing factories.
Water: Israel currently produces 50,000 cubic meters per day of water for Eilat and the south of the country by desalinating seawater and underground geothermal water. The first of a series of major desalination plants on the Mediterranean at Ashdod producing 45 million cubic meters of water per year using the reverse osmosis process will be completed by 2004. Israel recycles nearly 200 million cubic meters of sewage water per year, and although the water is said to be as clean as from natural sources, it is only used for agricultural purposes. An Israeli company also uses cloud seeding technology. This involves planes flying into clouds and spraying an iodine solution, which it is believed increased the amount of precipitation shed by the cloud.
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