Sunday, February 22, 2009

Israel sets feed-in tariff for wind power

The Public Utilities Authority (Electricity) has announced the details of a feed-in tariff for small wind turbines, similar to the solar photovoltaic feed-in tariff established in 2008. Consumers will now be able to generate their own electricity using wind turbines and sell the surplus back to the national grid.

The maximum output of a domestic wind turbine will be set at 15 kilowatts, and the maximum output of a commercial and industrial user's wind turbines will be set at 50 kilowatts.

The Public Utilities Authority has established two rates for wind-generated electricity: NIS 1.60 per kilowatt/hour for small turbines up to 10 kilowatts of output, and NIS 1.25 per kilowatt/hour for small turbines of 10-50 kilowatts of output. These rates will be reduced by 2% a year.

The Public Utilities Authority set two rates for wind-generated electricity: NIS 1.60 (~$0.40) per kilowatt/hour for small turbines up to 10 kilowatts of output, and NIS 1.25 (~$0.30) per kilowatt/hour for small turbines of 10-50 kilowatts of output. These rates will be reduced by 2% a year. The total quota is 30 megawatts through 2016.

By comparison, the solar PV feed-in tariff is NIS 2.01 per kilowatt/hour with a quota of 50 megawatts through 2015.

This is good news for companies like SOVNA (formerly ALT E), which is currently setting up "urban wind farms" in Tel Aviv. It may also provide a domestic market for innovative small wind turbine companies such as Technospin, Coriolis Wind, Leviathan Energy, and Variable Wind Solutions.

Related Posts:

Afcon and IEC partner on Galilee wind project

Visit to Technospin R&D facility


ALT E to develop urban wind farms