Solar field, KibbutzElifaz, IsraelEnergy consumption by source, Israel
Most energy in Israel comes from fossil fuels. The country's total primary energy demand is significantly higher than its total primary energy production, relying heavily on imports to meet its energy needs. Total primary energy consumption was 304 TWh (1.037 quad) in 2016, or 26.2 million tonne of oil equivalent.[1]
Electricity consumption in Israel was 57,149 GWh in 2017, while production was 64,675 GWh, with net exports of 4.94 TWh.[2] The installed generating capacity was about 16.25 GW in 2014, almost all from fossil fuel power stations, mostly coal and gas fueled.[3]Renewable energy accounted for a minor share of electricity production, with a small solar photovoltaic installed capacity. However, there are a total of over 1.3 million solar water heaters installed as a result of mandatory solar water heating regulations.
In 2018, 70% of electricity came from natural gas, and 4% from renewables, of which 95% was solar PV.[4]
Petroleum exploration began in 1947 on a surface feature in the Heletz area in the southern coastal plain. The first discovery, Heletz-I, was completed in 1955, followed by the discovery and development of a few small wells in Kokhav, Brur, Ashdod and Zuk Tamrur in 1957.[14] The combined Heletz-Brur-Kokhav field produced a total of 17.2 million barrels, a negligible amount compared with national consumption. Since the early 1950s, 480 oil and gas wells, land and offshore were drilled in Israel, most of which did not result in commercial success. In 1958–1961, several small gas fields were discovered in the southern Judean desert. From the Six-Day War until the Egyptian Separation Treaty in 1975, Israel produced large quantities of petroleum from the Abu Rodes oil field in Sinai.[15]
In 1951, the Arab states accused American oil interests in Saudi Arabia of selling oil to Central American governments who circumvented the Arab blockade against Israel by selling the oil back to the refinery in Haifa.[16]
Drilling for natural gas in the Mediterranean, Noa gas field
Since Israel’s creation in 1948, it has been dependent on energy imports from other countries.[23] Specifically, Israel produced 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2013, and imported 720 million cubic meters in 2011.[24]
Historically, Israel has imported natural gas through the Arish-Ashkelon pipeline from Egypt.[25]
Egypt is the second-largest natural gas producer in North Africa. In 2005 Egypt signed a 2.5 billion-dollar deal to supply Israel with 57 billion cubic feet of gas per year for fifteen years.[26] Under this arrangement, Egypt supplies 40 percent of Israel's natural gas demand.[26]
The Israeli Electric Corporation (IEC) controls more than 95% of the electricity sector in Israel, and controls production, distribution, and transmission of electricity. The IEC has a natural gas distribution law which regulates the distribution of natural gas in Israel to empower market competition.[27]
The discoveries of the Tamar gas field in 2009 and the Leviathan gas field in 2010 off the coast of Israel were important. The natural gas reserves in these two fields (Leviathan has around 19 trillion cubic feet)[25] could make Israel more energy secure. In 2013 Israel began commercial production of natural gas from the Tamar field and in 2019 from Leviathan.[28][29] As of 2017, even by conservative estimates, Leviathan holds enough gas to meet Israel's domestic needs for 40 years.[30]
Israel's electricity sector relies mainly on fossil fuels. In 2015, energy consumption in Israel was 52.86 TWh,[32] or 6,562 kWh per capita.[33] The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), which is owned by the government, produces most electricity in Israel, with a production capacity of 11,900 megawatts in 2016.[34] In 2016, IEC's share of the electricity market was 71%.[35]
Hydrocarbon fuels
Most electricity in Israel comes from hydrocarbon fuels from the following IEC power plants:
In the same year, 4.7% of Israel's total electricity consumption came from solar photovoltaics.[37] Production capacity of some 0.56 GW was installed in 2019.[38]
In 2022, 11.8% of Israel's energy mix came from renewable energy sources, totaling 4,765 MW in renewable energy production capacity.[40] The vast majority of Israel's renewable sources come from solar power, including from the Tze'elim, Ketura Sun, Ashalim Power Station, the 330 MW Dimona,[41] and 250 MW Ta'anakh solar parks.[42][43]
Officials from the Israeli Government and The Electricity Authority have given the goal to reach 30% of the country's energy from renewable sources by 2030.[44][45] Despite this goal, a May 2023 OECD report warned Israel was falling behind on its emissions reduction objectives, largely due to natural gas extraction.[46][47]
In June 2023, Israel's largest renewable energy project, Enlight Renewable Energy's Genesis Wind, began operations near the Israeli villages of Keshet and Yonatan in the Golan Heights.[48] The new wind farm is 207MW, will provide 70,000 households with clean energy, has a 27 kilometer HV 161 kV underground cable, and will save about 180,000 tons of annual CO2 emissions.[49]
In 2023, citing lack of land for ground solar PV parks, Israel mandated that all newly constructed commercial buildings install rooftop photovoltaic solar panels.[50][51][52] In September 2023, Israel added more than 2 GW to the national energy grid to connect renewable energy projects, specifically solar, to the grid.[53][54]
Israel is one of the world leaders in the use of solar thermal energy per capita.[59]
Since the early 1990s, all new residential buildings have been required by the government to install solar water-heating systems, and Israel's National Infrastructure Ministry estimates that solar panels for water-heating satisfy 4% of the country's total energy demand.[60]
Israel and Cyprus are the per-capita leaders in the use of solar hot water systems with over 90% of homes using them.[61]
The Ministry of National Infrastructures estimates solar water heating saves Israel 2 million barrels (320,000 m3) of oil a year.[62]
^Potential according to installed capacity at end of year. "דו"חות מצב משק החשמל". GOV.IL (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
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