Teralight, Synergy and the Hof HaCarmel Water Association have inaugurated Israel’s largest floating solar energy field (pictured), which will have the capacity to produce 31MW.
The PV field floats above Kibbutz Maayan Zvi reservoirs, which provides water for agricultural use in the coastal region south of Haifa.
Solar tracking systems (trackers) from the Israeli company Xfloat were integrated into the floating solar project.
The project was carried out as part of a policy led by the Carmel Coast Regional Council for the roofing of waterways and reservoirs.
This was formulated in conjunction with the localities that own the land, the Carmel Coast Water Association, the relevant government ministries, the green bodies, ornithology and nature experts, the Haifa District Planning Bureau and the developers.
As part of the implementation of the policy, the water reservoir in Moshav Bonim, fish ponds in Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael and various public institutions throughout the council were also built.
Teralight chief executive Rani Lifshitz said: ‘We are happy to continue to establish Teralight as a leading company in Israel in the field of solar energy, also in a dual-use format, and to launch the largest floating project in the country.
“There is no doubt that this is the greenest way to generate electricity – making the best use of the sun and an existing resource.
“We thank Synergy, the Carmel Coast Regional Council, and Bank Leumi for their partnership along the way.”
Yoed Ludar, chief executive of Hof Carmel Energie, added: “Today, we inaugurated Israel’s largest and most unique floating solar project.
“The previous large project in HaBonim Reservoir was joined by two large solar rafts, one of which is based on groundbreaking Israeli technology by Xfloat company that also incorporates tracking of the movement of the sun in the water reservoir, using water to tilt the panels.
“This is another step in covering all the water reservoirs for agriculture on the Carmel Coast and producing green electricity on a large scale for the consumption of all the households in the Carmel Coast settlements.”