Energia
Shikun & Binui to Launch Commercial Operations of Negev Energy Thermo-solar Power Plant at Ashalim
The launch follows Negev Energy's construction and test of the facility, and its successful completion of all the Israel Electric Company's acceptance tests. Following this, it received all the required approvals, including a permanent license to produce electricity from Israel Electric Authority. In addition, the commercial operations of the thermo-solar facility, which is located near Ashalim in Israel's Negev region, will also begin tomorrow.
Negev Energy, a company owned by Shikun & Binui Energy (50%), the Noy Infrastructure Fund (40%) and the Spanish firm TSK (10%), won the Government tender in 2013 and signed a 25-year concession agreement to plan, finance, build, operate and maintain the 110MW thermo-solar electric generation plant. The facility will supply enough clean electricity to Israel's National Grid, to power the needs of approximately 70,000 households.
The plant covers over an area of approximately 4,000 dunam. It is made up of approximately 16,000 parabolic troughs and half a million concave mirrors, used to transform solar energy into steam, that drives electricity-generating turbines. In addition, the plant features a unique molten salt energy storage system that enables the plant to supply electricity at full capacity for 4.5 additional hours each day after sunset, thus achieving an especially high level of efficiency.
Investment in the construction of the power plant totaled approximately USD 1 billion . The project provided employment to hundreds of workers, contractors and suppliers, most of whom were residents of Israel's Negev region.
, commented, "We are proud to have reached the successful completion of the construction of another groundbreaking mega-project. This is representative of Shikun & Binui's strategy, with the development and construction of meaningful mega-projects, meeting the needs of Israel and the world at large."
, added, "Once again, Shikun & Binui, is leading and partnering in revolutionary projects that are moving Israel forward. Today, we are leading the renewable energy market in Israel in which private concessionaires produce clean energy in commercial quantities. It is also an opportunity for Shikun & Binui to again promote the economic expansion of the Negev."
, commented, "Negev Energy and the project owners today demonstrated their exceptional capabilities with the completion of one of the most challenging projects ever attempted in Israel , both from a technological, engineering and financial point of view. This project is an excellent example of a successful cooperation between Israel's private and public sectors."
, added, "At the Noy Fund, we are proud to have completed another successful thermo-solar project, the second one completed this week. The Ashalim project uses complex and breakthrough technology in a field that the State of Israel has chosen as one of its strategic national goals."
Inbal Uliansky
+972(3)6301058
inbal_u@shikunbinui.com
shikunbinuni@gkir.com
Ehud Helft / Kenny Green GK Investor Relations
+1-617-418-3096