The electricity of XNUMX

According to the commitments of the State of Israel, next year we will sit on the balcony and produce 10 percent of our electricity from renewable sources. Are we close to meeting this goal and how far is it from the situation in other countries in the world?

Racheli Vox, Angle - Science and Environment News Agency

do you hear that This is the year 2020, which is approaching us with giant steps. According to the schedule of the State of Israel, there are several things we will have to accomplish by then: form a government (hopefully this time it will be successful), celebrate all the Tishri holidays (hopefully we don't gain too much weight) - and also meet the goal to which Israel committed following the Paris Agreement, according to which By 2020, 10 percent of the electricity in Israel will be produced from renewable sources, and not from polluting fossil fuels. However, it seems that we will start 2020 before we reach the desired goal - this despite the fact that in other countries tens of percent of the electricity is already produced from renewable energies.

Worldwide, electricity production from renewable sources is increasing. According to a new report by the United Nations and the Frankfurt School of Economics and Management, the production of renewable energy in the world has increased fourfold in the last decade. Specifically, solar energy production increased 26 times (!). Today, about 26 percent of the electricity in the world comes from renewable sources, which saves about two gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions per year and thus helps a lot in the fight against climate change. Among the leading countries in the world in the production of renewable energy from various sources are Iceland (close to 100 percent), Costa Rica (almost 99 percent), Norway (98 percent) and Uruguay (98 percent).

And what is the situation in Israel? One would expect that our sunny country would have extensive solar energy production, but unfortunately this is not the case. According to the goals set by the government, until 2014 electricity production from renewable energy was supposed to be 5 percent, but the real number was far from that at the time: only one and a half percent. The situation has improved a little since then, but still not enough: according to the Electricity Authority, by the end of 2019 the amount of electricity produced from renewable energies in Israel is expected to reach about 7 percent - while the target set, as mentioned, is 10 percent. The goal for 2030, by the way, is the production of at least 17 percent of the electricity from renewable sources.

Schwarzenegger's electricity

A more optimistic example of investing in renewable energies comes from California, whose economy is the largest among the states of the United States and the fifth largest in the world, and where about 34 percent of the electricity is produced from renewable sources. "In San Diego County and the surrounding area, almost 50 percent of the energy is renewable," boasts Scott Anders, director of the Energy and Policy Initiatives Center at the University of San Diego. "According to California law, the goal is to reach 60 percent renewable energies by 2030 and 100 percent by 2045." According to him, the main renewable source in California is solar energy. "We have so much solar energy, provided by large solar farms and rooftop panels, that at certain times of the year we have too much renewable energy and we need to get rid of it."

"The situation here is impressive, if you had asked me 20 years ago I would not have said that we would get this far today," says Anders. According to him, the scope of renewable energies in California has increased primarily thanks to policy measures, especially those taken by the former governor of the state, Arnold Schwarzenegger. "It wouldn't have happened because of market forces alone," he says.

the price of energy

Even in Israel you can find some encouraging examples of the use of solar energy. For example, 75 percent of the daily electricity consumption in Eilat and its surroundings is currently produced from renewable energy. This is through nine solar fields in Eilat and Arava (another field is currently being built at the nearby Ramon Airport and in Tamna) and hundreds of solar roofs in public institutions and private homes. According to the Eilat municipality, the goal is to reach a situation where solar energy will provide 100 percent of the city's electricity consumption.

However, as mentioned, the vast majority of electricity in Israel is still produced from polluting sources, primarily natural gas and coal. According to Dr. Shahar Dolev, research director at the Israeli Energy Forum, the main reason for this is - as usual - money. "The perception among the decision-makers, which you can accept and you can argue with, is that as a small country it is better for us to wait, let other countries invest money and puzzle over how to use these technologies, and when the costs drop enough and the performance increases, we will enter the game and invest the money."

In other countries, however, there was significant investment in renewable energy. According to the new report, in the last decade China invested 758 billion dollars in the field, the European Union 698 billion dollars, the USA invested 356 billion dollars and Japan 202 billion dollars. Anders does not hide the fact that the extensive financial investment in the issue in California has affected the residents' pockets. "Electricity prices in San Diego are among the highest in the US," he says. "I mean, these things have a price. The fight against climate change costs money, but the question is: compared to what? If we do not switch to renewable electricity it will have a price, and it may be much higher. For the future of the state of California, for the sake of everyone, we must apply these policy measures."

The good news is that solar energy costs are already much lower today than in the past. "Prices are dropping in an unprecedented way," says Dolev. "We have reached a situation where installing a solar panel is cheaper than electricity from a power plant that runs on fossil fuels (coal and gas). Accordingly, in the last two years we have seen a very significant change in the attitude of the Israel Electricity Authority to the issue."

Panels on every roof

However, the price is not the only difficulty. In order to establish solar fields, the electricity produced in which is significantly cheaper for the consumer than that produced by panels on the roofs of private houses (9 cents per kilowatt-hour compared to 48 cents, thanks to the size advantage of the fields), a lot of land is needed. In small Israel it is difficult to find vacant land for this. "We don't have unused areas," says Dolev. "The extensive areas we have already function as training areas for the IDF, as nature reserves or as agricultural fields."

Another problem lies in the fact that most of the solar fields are located, naturally, in the Negev and Arava, so it is necessary to transport most of the electricity produced in them north, to the rest of the country. "The national electricity grid was built on the assumption that relatively few people live in the Negev region," Dolev explains. "Now suddenly astronomical amounts of electricity are being produced in the Negev, the transmission system is not built for it." Today the transmission network is being upgraded in order to deal with the problem, but it will continue for several more years. "It costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time, and until then there is a 'traffic jam' at the exit from the Negev to the north," says Dolev.

So how is it possible to increase the scope of use of renewable energies in Israel? "Our approach, at the Israeli Energy Forum, is that solar panels should be placed on as many roofs as possible, despite the price," says Dolev. "Beyond that, every new building should include solar panels, or at least preparation for panels, on the roofs and preferably on the walls as well. Installing panels during construction costs almost as much as installing them in the field."

"In addition, solar panels should be placed on every free space: covered parking lots, roofing of walkways and roads, landfills and more," says Dolev.

Another way to increase the use of solar energy is to invest in systems that will store it for short and long periods, so that it can be used even at night and in winter. Today these systems are still relatively expensive, but their prices are dropping - and in any case, Dolev believes that money should not stop us. "As a startup and innovation nation, we can break the ground," he says. "If there is a fertile and vibrant market for renewable energy and storage solutions, there will be Israeli startups that can lead this trend in the world."

Until that happens, we can all reduce our greenhouse gas emissions today, by basic electricity conservation. "These are simple steps, such as setting the air conditioner to the recommended temperature according to the season or turning off the lighting and air conditioning when we are not in the rooms," Dolev concludes.

The Ministry of Energy responded: The Ministry of Energy promotes the production of electricity from renewable energies, as part of the government's decision to reduce the use of coal for electricity production and in accordance with the state's commitment in the Paris Agreement. According to the plan of the Ministry of Energy and the Electricity Authority, Israel is expected to meet an intermediate target of 10 percent production from renewable energy by 2020.

The article was prepared by "Angle - Science and Environment News Agency".

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Chairman of the Subcommittee for Oversight of the Implementation of the Paris Decisions: Israel will not meet its commitments to reduce emissions
• Minister Gabbay at the climate conference in Paris: The development of new technologies is Israel's main contribution and mission in the field of climate
• Will the news come from Paris?