OPIC Board of Directors Approves Commitment to Negev Solar Power Plant
March 20, 2014
(OPIC)
WASHINGTON – The Board of Directors of the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
today approved a $250 million loan to Negev
Energy-Ashalim Thermo-Solar, Ltd. to support
construction of a 110-megawatt concentrated
solar power (CSP) plant in Israel’s Negev
Desert.
This will be the first CSP facility to receive
funding support from OPIC, the U.S.
Government’s development finance institution.
Due to thermal storage capability and other
efficiency improvements, the capacity of a CSP
plant can be more than twice that of a solar
photovoltaic plant. This renewable source of
power generation will be one of the first
large-scale alternative energy facilities in
Israel, and helps both OPIC and the Obama
Administration’s own goals to support renewable
energy projects, as well as Israel’s own recent
commitment to diversify beyond energy generated
from fossil fuels.
“This project advances one of OPIC’s key
strategic priorities to support the development
of renewable resources, and also uses an
innovative solar technology,” said Elizabeth
Littlefield, OPIC’s President and CEO. “The
concentrated solar power design used for this
plant is exciting, cutting-edge technology that
can dramatically increase power generation.
This is a project that shows how to provide a
tremendously effective source of clean energy
in a region dependent on fossil fuel. This is a
frontier I’m honored to be entering with
OPIC.”
The planned construction of the CSP facility is
in Israel’s Negev desert, one of the country’s
least developed areas. The Negev Energy-Ashalim
project is expected to create hundreds of jobs
during construction and employ over one hundred
people in both unskilled and technical
capacities after the plant’s completion.
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