Ashalim power station
Encyclopedia
The Ashalim power station is a future solar power station
to be established in the Negev
desert
near the kibbutz
of Ashalim, (south of the district city of Be'er Sheva) in Israel
. The station will provide 250 Megawatt of electricity (2.5% of the Israeli consumption), which makes it the largest of its kind.
The station will combine 3 kinds of energy: solar thermal energy
, photovoltaic energy, and gas burning.
, the establishment has several motivations:
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
to be established in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
near the kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
of Ashalim, (south of the district city of Be'er Sheva) in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The station will provide 250 Megawatt of electricity (2.5% of the Israeli consumption), which makes it the largest of its kind.
The station will combine 3 kinds of energy: solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...
, photovoltaic energy, and gas burning.
Reasons for building the power station
According to a press release of the National Infrastructure Minister of IsraelNational Infrastructure Minister of Israel
The National Infrastructure Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure. From its establishment in 1977 until 1996, the post was known as the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure . The current minister is Uzi Landau of Yisrael Beiteinu.It succeeded...
, the establishment has several motivations:
- Economic motivation: Reducing imports thus balancing the trade and releasing foreign currency.
- Political motivation: Reducing strategic dependence on foreign energy sources.
- Environmental motivation: Reducing contamination levels.
- Scientific motivation: pushing forward local technology and science, adapting new technologies from abroad.