On Sunday EDF inaugurated the 50MW Zmorot solar park located in the northern Negev desert, covering more than 60 hectares and comprised of more than 200,000 solar panels supplied by French silicon PV module manufacturer Photowatt.
The Zmorot solar park was built by France’s EDF EN and Israeli partner Solex.
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The French prime minister Manuel Valls was present at the inauguration during his three-day trip to Israel, and hailed the site as a “political project, a project that shows us a way for the future of renewable energy,” according to The Jerusalem Post.
He was joined by Antoine Cahuzac, CEO of EDF EN, Ayaon Vaniche, CEO of EDF EN Israel and environmental protection minister Avi Gabbay.
Construction for the park lasted only 18 months, with initial planning for the project beginning in 2010. Once operational, the plant will sell electricity to the Israel Electric Corporation under a 20-year PPA (power purchase agreement).
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Gabbay mentioned the environmental transition that Israel has been going through since COP21, which inspired the country to reduce coal-fired generation by 19%, according to the Israel Foreign Affairs website.
“We are grateful to France for the success of the [UNFCCC] Climate Summit in Paris, not only because of its international accomplishments, but also because it helped raise awareness of the issue of air pollution here in Israel.
“We have a plan [to reduce pollution] and a budget for it, and we will achieve our goal through a series of steps we have already begun – in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and improvements in transportation.”
EDF EN Israel’s Cahuzac announced the company’s intentions to build more solar fields in Israel in the future. The addition of the Zmorot park means that EDF EN Israel now operates 11 solar parks in the country.
