US & Israel to launch energy cooperation agreement at Eilat Energy Conference

The Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference announced that the US-Israel Energy Cooperation Act, passed last year by the U.S. Congress, is expected to launch at the upcoming Eilat-Eilot energy conference, to be held from February 17-19, 2009, in Eilat, Israel.

The cooperation act will fund eligible joint ventures between U.S. and Israeli businesses, as well as establish the International Energy Advisory Board. Hezi Kugler, Director General of the Ministry of National Infrastructures will be leading the delegation of National Infrastructure representatives who will be in attendance at the conference.

“The Ministry of National Infrastructures views with high import the development of the Eilat-Eilot Region as a center of renewable energy solutions, and we not only fully support them in this pursuit, but we ourselves are very involved in advancing their initiatives,” Kugler said. “The conference is an important step towards developing the alternative energy capabilities of this region, and will certainly push us forward in becoming an alternative energy world leader.”

Timna Renewable Energy Park

The conference will also feature the unveiling of plans for the Timna Renewable Energy Park, the centerpiece of the Eilat-Eilot region’s efforts to turn Southern Israel into the “Silicon Valley” of renewable energy. It will feature technologies from companies around the world, with planned projects to include a combined wind/solar "farm"; a solar thermal power plant; a solarized turbine pilot plant and the production of biogas from municipal waste.

"The Arava is home to intense sun and a pioneering spirit, which are the necessary ingredients for creating a renewable energy revolution in the State of Israel", said Yosef I. Abramowitz, president of the Arava Power Company, a leading solar developer.

Leading Solar Power Companies

Participating Israeli solar companies, including the Arava Power Company (APC), Solar Power Israel and Sunday Solar Energy, intend on using the conference to launch their next phases of growth. Recently, APC announced an agreement to utilize kibbutz land in the Arava and the Negev for solar fields generating at least 500 MW, and eventually one gigawatt (GW) or more, while energy integrator Sunday Solar Energy announced a NIS 500 million ($133 million USD) investment in photovoltaic solar arrays for kibbutzim across Israel. The investment is expected to be made across the country during the next two years.

The conference will also feature international firms such as the Google-backed eSolar, the German company Concentrix and SunPower, one of the world’s largest solar power technologies companies.

Conference sponsors include Brightsource Energy, Chromagen, Granite HaCarmel and Erdinast, Ben Nathan & Co. Advocates.

Precede Technologies, "The Cleantech Start-up Nursery"

Precede Technologies, an "entrepreneurship and investment firm which teams up with scientists and inventors to establish well-funded start-up companies", is the focus of an interesting feature article in "Globes".

Precede's partners, Orni Petruschka, Dr. Rafi Gidron, Nimrod Goor and Albert Olier, discuss Precede's origins, its investment strategy and focus on cleantech, and the firm's future plans.

The firm was founded in 2005 with the goal of bridging the gap between academe and industry, something observers have pointed to as a weakness in Israel's cleantech cluster. It is backed by Pitango Venture Capital and Evergreen Venture Partners and can provide up to $1 million in seed funding.

Precede Technologies' portfolio currently consists of three companies: Pythagoras Solar, Coriolis Wind, and SolarPower. In February of 2008, Pythagoras received a $10 million second round of funding from Pitango, Evergreen, and Israel Cleantech Ventures.

Cleantech Israel group meets in Herzliya

Cleantech Israel, a new group that enables entrepreneurs, investors, academics, government officials and others to meet and exchange ideas about Israel’s renewable energy, water, and environmental technology sectors, held its second event this week in Herzliya Pituach.

The event featured a presentation by Alon Tamari, Co-CEO of SolarPower Israel — the largest solar integration company in Israel — followed by time for networking by the ~70 people in attendance.

The group’s first event in March included presentations by Jack Levy, General Partner at Israel Cleantech Ventures, and Eran Yarkoni, Founder and CEO of EnStorage, a company developing an innovative fuel cell technology.

Similar networking groups exist in other emerging clean technology clusters, like Boston and Silicon Valley, and I am excited about the prospects for a group in Israel.

With almost 500 cleantech-related companies, and venture capital firms with hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in the industry, there is certainly a lot to discuss.

For more information about Cleantech Israel, please visit the group’s web page or feel free to contact me directly.

Cleantech Israel group featured in Globes

The Cleantech Israel meetup group was recently featured in "Globes", and I am re-posting the article below. Highlights and a photo from the group's first event are also available on this blog.

Cleantech Israel enables people (including entrepreneurs, investors, academic researchers and government officials) to meet and exchange ideas about the renewable energy, water, and environmental sectors.

The group's next event, on April 29, will include a presentation by Alon Tamari, Co-CEO of SolarPower Ltd., followed by time for networking. You can join the group and RSVP for the next event at our web page.

"Globes": Cleantech industry networks in Israel

About 50 representatives from various parts of Israel's cleantech industry recently met in Herzliya Pituach to launch a networking initiative. They included venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, Ronit Golovaty from the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute and even Jaclyn Marcus from the California Public Utilities Commission. The meet-up was organized by Jonathan Shapira, from Boston, and Gene Dolgin from Tel Aviv. The Cleantech Israel group currently has 134 members.

Jonathan Shapira is a law student from Boston who is currently serving an internship with Israel Cleantech Ventures, where Gene Dolgin is an analyst. The US law firm of Goodwin Procter LLP, which has an extensive Clean Technology Practice, sponsored the meet-up. Shapira says that he will soon be working for the firm.

Shapira and Dolgin, aware that there are similar cleantech networking groups in places like Boston and Silicon Valley, decided to organize the group to enable key players in the industry in Israel - entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and government officials - to meet and exchange ideas. Shapira notes that while Israel has many strengths when it comes to cleantech, the lack of government support, especially when compared to what is happening in other countries, may hold the industry back. He hopes that members of the Cleantech Israel group, together with other organizations such as Waterfronts - Israel Water Alliance, and the newly created Israel Energy Forum, might be able to persuade the government to implement better policies related to renewable energy, clean water, and the environment.

Shapira told "Globes", "Gene and I decided to organize the network together, and we received a strong response, especially from entrepreneurs and investors. Other parties quickly joined, including academics and a few government officials.

The participants at the Cleantech Israel meet-up included former Gemini Israel Funds partner Tali Aben; Genesis Partners principle Gil Dibner; Terra Venture Partners LP general partner Dr. Harold Weiner; and Israel Cleantech managing partner Jack Levy. Levy noted, "Although Israel entered cleantech late, great things have emerged here within only three years, on both the entrepreneurs and the funds side."

Participating entrepreneurs included low-cost regenerative fuel-cell developer Enstorage Ltd. CEO Eran Yarkoni, wastewater treatment solutions developer AqWise Ltd. VP business development Udi Leshem; Emefcy Bioenergy Systems CEO Eytan Levy, who previously co-founded AqWise; Phoebus Energy Ltd. CEO Yoav Ben-Yaacov; Ashkelon Technological Industries (ATI) cleantech director Rafi Nevo; and Noam Ilan, who is the project manager of the alternative energy park under construction at the Eilot Regional Council in the southern Negev.

Solar Roundup

What follows is a selection of recent stories and links related to the solar industry in Israel.

Arava planning $2.5 billion solar power station

An international project management firm recently signed a memorandum of understanding for construction of a $2.5 billion solar power station in the Eilot Region in the Arava desert. The project, which is expected to develop over a five-year period, involves installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels that will eventually supply up to 500 megawatts of electricity. The agreement was signed by the Arava Power Company of Kibbutz Ketura located in the southern Arava.

SolarPower raises $1.1m

Photovoltaic energy system integration company SolarPower Israel has raised $1.1 million at a company value of a few million dollars from Precede Technologies and Rosenram Development Ltd. The company plans to use the funding to expand its business in Israel and internationally.

SolarPower co-CEOs Avinoam Levy and Alon Tamari founded the company in 2003. The company anticipates rapid growth in Israel's photovoltaic energy market following an update to the Electricity Regulations to allow the government to buy electricity generated by solar energy systems installed at businesses, commercial enterprises, and private homes at nearly four times the rate of electricity generated by usual means.

IEC wants to bid on Negev solar plant

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) is seeking to participate in the tender for the construction and operation of the solar power plant to be built at Ashalim in the Negev. IEC wants to be a sub-contractor, providing planning, management, and construction services for one of the consortia that will participate in the tender. IEC has begun negotiations to this end with Solel Solar Systems Ltd..