NEGEV SOLAR THERMAL PLANT

Design, construction and operation of a solar thermal power plant with a gross installed capacity of 121MW on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis. It will be located in the Western Negev Desert in Israel, 35km South of the city of Beer Sheva, close to the village of Ashalim, on an area designated by the Israeli authorities as Plot A.

The project will have significantly lower pollutant emissions, including greenhouse gases, than conventional thermal power plants. It will contribute to EU and Israel national priority objectives with regard to combating climate change and supporting renewable energy. It is fully in line with the strategic objectives set for the external mandate as well as the Bank’s priority energy lending objectives related to renewable energy and external energy security and economic development. This project contributes substantially to the objectives of the Mediterranean Solar Plan and to the achievement of the Israeli national target to generate 10% of the total electricity capacity by 2020 from renewable energy sources, equivalent to approximately 2,700MW.

If the project were located in the EU, it would fall under Annex II of the EIA Directive (85/337/EEC) as amended, requiring the competent national authority to determine the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Under Israeli Law, the project requires a mandatory EIA including initial scoping and public consultation. During appraisal, the Bank will ensure that the project complies with the Bank’s principles and standards as regards environmental and social issues.

The project concession has a local preference element requiring the promoter to procure domestically 20% of its investment. Based on the information available at this stage, the required local component seems to be below the level at which parts can naturally be sourced locally and at economic prices. The Bank will assess this in more detail during the appraisal with the objective of verifying whether the project will meet the Bank’s criteria of economy and efficiency.