Prospects Are Bright For An Energy-Secure Israel (and America) August 26, 2008
Posted by israelrenewableenergy in Blog.Tags: clean technology, cleantech, energy security, Israel, renwable energy, solar
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The Jerusalem Post features a story on the emerging clean technology industry, replete with policy suggestions from luminary, Isaac Berzin, and clean tech venture capitalist, Jack Levy.
One of the best ideas in the article comes from Berzin:
Let’s say Israel wants to produce electricity from solar [power]. There are two options: build ten solar facilities using the same technology, or build the same facilities using ten different technologies. The second option would make you the biggest solar park in the world, the mecca of solar [power]. People would come to check out all the options and that is where Israel should be smart in its choices,”
Other people trying to get the attention of policymakers are found in Denver, CO this week. The conventions in Denver mean alot of influential people are in one place at the same time. It’s an important time to get Israel’s, and America’s, security on the agenda.
The Israel Project, a non-profit which focuses on counteracting mis-information relative to Israel, has put together an ad campaign to highlight Israel’s renewable energy progress and ability to contribute towards an energy-secure America.
See the ad here.
Black gold in the desert August 26, 2008
Posted by israelrenewableenergy in Blog.Tags: dead sea, energy, Fuel Efficiency, Israel, judean desert, oil, SPNI
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The Jerusalem Post reports on potential oil discoveries (and the potential ensuing environmental damage) in yesterday’s paper. (see JP article) While at first blush, it looks to be a significant step towards making Israel more energy independent, it’s a mirage. According to SPNI (Society for Protection of Nature in Israel, also known as חברה הגנת הטבה ) :
Israel uses about 80 million barrels of oil per year, or 270,000 per day. 6.5 million barrels would meet Israel’s needs for less than a month.
According to a JP article in 2006, the oil could potentially be extracted at a rate of 1,000 barrels per day for 15 years. Translation: for massive environmental damage, Israel could provide .00037% of her daily energy needs on her own.
The talkbacks appear to be dominated by the “Drill now. Drill everywhere” form of energy policy. Hopefully rational minds will prevail and realize that the return on investment to the country and the people (though not to the oil drilling company) will be much greater by a series of un-sexy initiatives that look at consolidating land-use, enabling better public transit, assessing tax policy vis-a-vis corporate leasing programs, and raising fuel efficiency standards as a start.
Simple is beautiful August 26, 2008
Posted by israelrenewableenergy in Blog.Tags: cars, electric vehicle, energy efficiency, Fuel Efficiency, Israel
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Sexy solutions, like an electric vehicle, with its revolutionary ideas of completely changing the world get so much play, it fails to remind us mere mortals that there are other ways to achieve efficiency. For this reason, it’s nice to see that Israeli company, Agam Energy Systems is able to get a little press.
The Jerusalem Post today says that Agam’s new engine prototype can
enable cars to drive at 45 km/litre. The engine is more efficient even in start and stop city driving because the car stores recoverable kinetic energy.
If this is true, it certainly will be encouraging information. Let’s keep a close eye to see how it works out.
Sometimes a monopoly is just a monopoly August 7, 2008
Posted by israelrenewableenergy in Blog.Tags: DIY, Israel, Israel Electric Company, solar
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Recent regulatory changes have enabled ordinary citizens to produce their own power in Israel and get paid for it. Unfortunately, the road to open markets is still filled with many roadblocks. Eytan Avriel has a short and (bitter-) sweet account of his recent attempt to become energy independent.
In the US several companies have found ways to combat some of these issues by changing the business model, and legislators enabled those business to work with a rich set of tax credits. For example, Solar Edison and SolarCity provide in-house financing and/or leasing arrangements. To overcome the nightmare which can be planning and installation, GoGreenSolar creates a seamless online experience that walks you through sizing and planning the whole system. They then ship the panels to your home via UPS and an installer arrives to complete the job. Hopefully some entrepreneurs in Israel will step up to the challenge soon and join suit.
