Israel based construction and infrastructure company Shikun & Binui has selected Noy Fund and TSK Group to support the development of the $1.1bn NIS 4B Ashalim thermo-solar power plant in Israel.
Noy Fund and TSK Group will replace Spain’s Abengoa, with which Shikun & Binui earlier formed a joint venture for the development of the 110MW thermo-solar power plant in the Negev desert.
As per the latest deal, Shikun & Binui will continue to hold 50% stake in the project, while Noy Fund will own 10% and TSK Group 40%. Additionally, TSK Group will have 32.5% interest in the project’s building contractor.
The agreement is subject to approvals from the Israeli government and financing entities.
Scheduled to be completed in 2018, the project is backed by funding from a consortium of Israeli and international banks, including the American Overseas Private Investment (OPIC), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Israel’s Bank Leumi and Israel’s Bank Hapoalim.
Power generated from the Ashalim thermo-solar plant will be sold the Israel Electric Company under a 25-year agreement signed in late 2013.
Claimed to be the largest of its kind in Israel, the solar thermal electricity plant will be capable of storing energy in order to produce electricity even after sunset.
Featuring parabolic trough technology with a 4.5 hour thermal energy storage system using molten salts, the project is expected to produce clean required to power more than 69,000 households, while reducing CO2 emission by 463,000 tons annually.
The project is expected to create 633 jobs during construction phase and about 60 jobs upon commissioning. It is also expected to contribute to the country’s goal to generate 10% of the power from renewable sources by 2020.
Shikun Binui Group board of directors chairperson Moshe Lahmani earlier said: "Ashalim is a leading mega project which contributes clean electricity to all the citizens of Israel and also provides significant technological and economic development to the Negev."
Image: Israel aims to generate 10% of its power from renewable sources by 2020. Photo: courtesy of Naypong / Freedigitalphotos.net.