TEL AVIV, Israel - February 22 - Greenpeace welcomes the announcement today from the Ministry of Infrastructure that the proposed solar power plant in Eshalim, originally proposed in 2001, will finally be put out to tender to private contractors. Greenpeace Mediterranean has led the campaign for renewable energy power plants to be constructed in the region. In 2005, the organisation submitted a report to the Ministry of Infrastructure, which proved that the construction of solar power stations would generate a profit of NIS 810 million annually, would create 5,000 new jobs, and would turn Israel into a world leader in the export of renewable technology to help combat climate change. The decision today is a good first step in this direction.

“Greenpeace welcomes this positive announcement by the Ministry of Infrastructure, to finally build a first solar plant. Israel has taken a significant step forwards today in becoming a world leader in solar power,” said Nili Grossman, Greenpeace Mediterranean Energy Campaigner. “Israel has immense potential to create a lucrative market in the export of renewable energy and free itself from its dependence on oil and coal.”

Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plants can play an important part in the Middle East and on the Global level. The recently launched report: ‘Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable World Energy Outlook’, produced by Greenpeace International and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), is a practical blueprint for how to cut global CO2 emissions by almost 50% by 2050, whilst providing a secure and affordable energy supply and, critically, maintaining steady worldwide economic development.

Notably, the plan takes into account rapid economic growth areas such as China, India and Africa, and highlights the economic advantages of the energy revolution scenario. It concludes that renewable energies will represent the backbone of the world’s economy. The energy blueprint for the Middle East concludes, that 36% of the region’s electricity needs in the year 2050 could be produced by solar thermal power plants, while on the global level 9% of the required electricity would be produced by this technology.

“The decision from the Israeli Government comes as the world is crying out for a plan on how to tackle the dilemma of how to provide the power we need, without fuelling climate change,” said Sven Teske, Climate & Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace International. “We welcome this project and urge all Governments of the "sunbelt regions" to invest in solar thermal power stations."

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