Israel in talks to build solar plants in Egypt, other neighbouring countries – minister

Israel is in talks for potential joint solar energy projects in Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, and countries further afield, a senior official told Bloomberg on Thursday.

Yair Pines, director general of the Israeli prime minister’s office, further said discussions are underway to build solar energy plants in neighboring countries as part of Israel’s plans to cut carbon emissions and bolster its green technology sector.

The sites will be built in countries with more idle land while Israel would provide its technological know-how, Pines explained.

The anticipated plants will be connected to the power grids of partners in the project, he added.

“Our neighbours have lots of open land, something we don’t have. We have the technology,” Pines said.

“It’s reasonable that this vision will turn into reality in the coming years.”

In October, Israel unveils plans to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett promising to roll out green infrastructure and develop carbon capture and storage technology to help meet those goals.

After years of slow progress in renewable energy sector, Israel is now more determined to triple production to 30 percent of its electricity use by the end of the decade. To meet such target, Bennett has instructed officials to identify and remove regulatory roadblocks to startups working on environmentally-friendly technology.

The government are also instructed to enable firms to use national infrastructure like army bases and hospitals as testing grounds for their technology, with the aim of speeding up development.