Israel: Plans To Add 100000 Rooftop Solar Systems By 2030

The Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure recently announced a new goal of adding 100,000 rooftop solar systems across the country by 2030. The plan is part of the "Solar Roofs" project, which aims to encourage more residents to adopt solar energy and improve the country's energy independence and resilience.

Will promote 1.6GW of rooftop photovoltaic installations, and the system investment will pay back within 5 years

The plan is expected to deploy 1.6GW of solar installed capacity, covering 15% of residential roofs nationwide, and help Israel achieve its overall goal of 30% renewable energy in the power structure by 2030. In addition, the plan will promote the transformation of rooftop photovoltaic system users from simple electricity users to "prosumers", who can not only achieve self-generation and self-use of electricity but also sell excess electricity to the national grid.

The Israeli government will introduce a new electricity price tax rate policy to shorten the payback period for residents' investment in photovoltaics to 5 years. Under the plan, households that install rooftop photovoltaics are expected to achieve a stable rate of return of more than 14% in 25 years.

Taking a 15kW residential rooftop photovoltaic system as an example, it can bring users about 13,000 Israeli New Shekels (NIS) in revenue each year, while a 30kW system can bring annual revenue of up to 25,000 NIS. In addition, if residential buildings are equipped with energy storage systems, they can not only increase revenue but also ensure power supply in emergencies and improve energy security.

National platform promotes promotion, AI supports revenue assessment

To ensure the smooth implementation of the plan, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure will establish a national renewable energy portal and set up an implementation center to provide residents with installation guides. In addition, the government is studying subsidized loans for housing committees and promoting photovoltaic installation loans for public housing buildings.

Recently, the Israeli Ministry of Energy, in cooperation with the National Center for Surveying and Mapping, launched an artificial intelligence (AI)--based rooftop solar potential assessment tool. The tool can help residents and governments estimate the solar power generation potential and electricity sales revenue of rooftops and is applicable to different land uses in public and private spaces.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said that the "100,000 Solar Roofs" plan is a historic initiative we have brought to Israeli citizens, and it will trigger a revolution in the energy market. Installing solar panels not only brings additional economic benefits to homeowners, but also provides electricity in emergency situations, improves the country's energy security, and produces pollution-free clean electricity to benefit citizens' health.

Currently, Israel's annual installed capacity of renewable energy is about 1GW, but to achieve the goal of 30% renewable energy by 2030, the annual new installed capacity needs to be increased to 1.4GW.