Minister Erdan calls on the Minister of Energy and Water to increase solar energy production quotas in preparation for the expected shortage of electricity in the summer

"According to data from the Authority for Public Services - Electricity, the cost of producing a kWh of electricity using solar energy is lower than the cost of producing a kWh of electricity using some of the power plants when using extinguishing fuel during peak hours." Minister Ardan writes

The Minister of Environmental Protection, Gilad Erdan, addressed a letter to the Minister of Energy and Water, Uzi Landau, in which Minister Erdan requests to increase the solar electricity production quotas, as part of the proposal that will be submitted for government approval regarding dealing with shortages in the electricity sector this summer.

Here is the text of Minister Ardan's letter
Discussed: Maximizing the installation capacity and the production of electricity using solar energy in preparation for the expected shortage

There is currently an available production reserve of tens of megawatts, from solar energy, for small and business systems (up to 50 kilowatts), the only obstacle to their installation until the summer of 2012, is the exhaustion of the existing quota for these electricity production facilities.

As you know, due to the shortage of natural gas, and the expected shortage of electricity this summer, alternative fuels have recently been increasingly used as backup fuels. These fuels are polluting fuels and their use significantly increases the emission of air pollution into the environment.

In recent days, your office circulated a proposal for a resolution to the government entitled "Taking steps to deal with the expected shortage of electricity in the summer of 2012". This resolution proposal includes a list of actions that will allow for an increase in electricity generation capacity this summer. The measures that your office proposes to increase production capacity include the increased use of polluting fuels as an alternative to natural gas, the purchase of kerosene gas turbines for backup during electricity shortages, and the operation of diesel generators during peak hours. Electricity production using most of these means is expensive and polluting compared to electricity production using solar energy.

According to data from the Authority for Public Services - Electricity, the cost of producing a kilowatt of electricity using solar energy is lower than the cost of producing a kilowatt of electricity using some of the power plants when using extinguishing fuel during peak hours, certainly the cost of producing using diesel generators (operating as part of arrangements for hours of shortage ).

I request that the government's decision that you intend to bring to the government's approval regarding the expected shortage of electricity, include the allocation of additional quotas for solar energy, in order to allow the utilization of the production capacity available from solar energy as early as this summer.

Maximizing the production capacity from solar energy will make it possible to reduce the use of polluting alternative fuels, both during the shortage period and in the future. In addition, to reduce damage to the environment and public health, maximizing the production capacity available from solar energy will save unnecessary costs for the economy and ease the burden placed on the public.