Israel contemplates energy-storage options

Article tags EnergyMiddle East and AfricaCountry Analysis

The government has announced plans for Israel’s first stand-alone energy-storage facility, consistent with the aims underpinning a revised draft climate bill (legally enshrining targets for carbon-free power generation). We expect renewables capacity to expand rapidly in 2023‑27, as the government phases out coal, conserves gas for export and meets international emissions-reduction commitments, but political and regulatory logjams will remain a hindrance.

Why does it matter?

Israel is accelerating an initially slow adoption of renewables, having focused in the 2010s on developing newly discovered gas resources. The National Electricity Authority reported an additional 1.15 GW connected to the grid in 2022, taking renewables capacity to 4.4 GW and enabling a goal to generate 10% of electricity from renewables (originally set for 2020) to be met.

The climate bill will almost double the 2030 emissions-reduction target from the current target of 27% (from a 2015 baseline) to 50%, but the legislation is currently stalled, partly over its opponents’ contention that the intermittency of solar- and wind-based electricity production would jeopardise energy security. The isolation of the country’s electricity system (without cross-border interconnections to smooth out supply volatility) means that the issue of renewables’ intermittency is especially significant for Israel. Boosting storage is thus a priority, with about 2 GW/8 GWh calculated to be required to meet the target to have renewables account for 30% of generation by 2030 (from less than 20% currently).

The government started addressing the issue in 2020-21, awarding around 1.1 GW of ‘solar-plus-storage’ projects to developers, and in April amended feed-in tariffs to incentivise the use of storage in distributed solar. On May 2nd the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure announced that the National Planning and Building Council had approved installation of 800 MW/3,200 MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities in the northern Gilboa area (close to a major transmission line and several existing renewables projects), comprising four 200‑MW plants. No timetable or procurement strategy has been reported.

Critics of the climate bill argue that an accelerated shift from fossil fuels to renewables will create energy insecurity. A government debate on the legislation in early May failed to resolve the impasse between the Ministry of Environmental Protection (which put forward the bill) and opponents in the energy ministry, which opposes putting climate targets in law on the basis that it reduces policy “flexibility”.

What next?

We expect the adoption of renewables, mainly solar, to accelerate in 2023‑27 as the government plays catch-up on emissions reduction while aiming to free up gas for export. Nonetheless, internal political divisions and government instability will remain a drag on consistent and effective energy policymaking, slowing the deployment of renewables projects and the meeting of sustainability targets.

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Fri, 26th May 2023 Article tags EnergyMiddle East and AfricaCountry Analysis