2GW of Ground-Mounted PV Capacity may Release as Israel may Lift Land Restrictions for Large-scale Solar

SHANGHAI, Feb 7 (SMM) - The budgetary bill released by the new government of Israel includes the cancellation of the limit set by the national zoning committee, which has been blocking land allocations for ground-mounted PV for two years. The National Zoning Board has restricted 2,000 hectares, an area limit equivalent to around 2GW of ground-mounted PV capacity. The limit applies to all utility-scale solar installations.

Now, the limit is supposed to fall. Hearings are now underway, and the director of the Israel Green Energy Association is expected to make a final decision in March.

Back in September, the Cabinet of Israel approved an exemption for floating PV projects with a potential of 2 GW to 3 GW, especially on water reservoirs. No zoning plan is required to build them - just a building permit. Projects up to 16 MW in size are now also exempt from this, along with rooftop systems up to 700 kW in size.

Israel has 5GW of PV already installed. At present, 10% of Israel's electricity comes from renewable energy. Renewable energy aims to account for 20% of electricity generation by 2025 and 30% of electricity generation by 2030. Israel also promises to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Extrapolating from current conditions, this equates to around 17GW of solar power generation. The cancellation of land restrictions will boost the renewable energy target.