About:
Installing dozens of small photovoltaic panels for solar power generation on the rooftops of public housing buildings in periphery towns. Revenues generated from the electricity produced will be used for the maintenance of the buildings and their adjacent open spaces for a 20-year period – including stairwell lighting, gardening work, etc.
The revenues from electricity generation are projected to cover the costs of taxation, commissions, overhead, licensing and insurance, so the project will cover its own costs and it won’t cost the tenants anything.
Budget:
NIS 40 million shekels from the KKL-JNF and NIS 60 million from the Ministry of Construction and Housing.
Benefits:
The venture will benefit the tenants, the government and the local authorities.
The tenants will pay less for electricity in the common areas and for gardening maintenance, thanks to the savings in electricity costs for the common areas; their quality of life will improve and the properties’ value will rise, because the fixed income from the sale of solar energy will be reinvested in the building’s maintenance.
The government gets to expand renewable energy generation – a national goal it has committed to achieving in the Paris Agreement and will also help disadvantaged populations in Israel’s periphery. In addition, it will reduce air pollution and decentralize electricity generation (transmission costs, energy security, etc.).
The local authorities will benefit from the facelift these neighborhoods will get and the positive impact it will have on the local residents and the street.
Project Phase:
The project has been launched. Pledges were made to Amidar and Amigur public housing companies, and an execution tender will be published in the second quarter of 2017.
The following municipalities will participate in the program: Ofakim, Eilat, Be'er Sheva, Beit She’an, Dimona, Tiberias, Yeruham, Migdal HaEmek, Ma’alot-Tarshiha, Netivot, Afula, Kiryat Shmona and Sderot.