05.07.2009

The first hybrid solarized gas turbine power station constructed in Israel’s Arava desert at kibbutz Samar . The company’s revolutionary hybrid approach enables the system to run on solar radiation input, as well as almost any alternative fuel, including biogas, biodiesel and natural gas. This enables a variety of operation modes – from solar-only mode, where electricity is supplied when there is ample sunlight, to hybrid mode, where fuel helps generate electricity when sunlight is insufficient, such as at night or when it is cloudy, guaranteeing an uninterrupted green power supply 24 hours a day. AORA’s Samar power station is situated on half an acre of land and consists of a field of 30 tracking mirrors (heliostats). Each heliostat will follow the sun and direct its rays towards the top of a 30 meter-high tower housing a special solar receiver along with a 100kw gas turbine. The patented receiver will use the sun’s energy to heat air to a temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius and direct this energy into the turbine. The turbine will in turn convert this tremendous thermal energy into electric power that will be fed directly into the national grid.

Services that ensure reliability and support the transmission of electricity from generation sites to customer loads. Such services may include: load regulation, spinning reserve, non-spinning reserve, replacement reserve, and voltage support.

The Arava Power Company formed in 2006, is an Israeli company that deals in solar power development. Founded by a group from Kibbutz Ketura, and owned 60% by Yossef Abramovitch and a group of Jewish American investors and 40% by Kibbutz Ketura, APC seeks to supply 10% of Israel’s electricity needs through alliances with Kibbutzim and other land owners, especially in the south of the country. In February 2009, IEC approved the connection of an 80 MW photovoltaic power plant to the national grid that belongs to the Arava Power company. The power plant will be built on an area covering 1,500 dunam (375 acres) on Kibbutz Ketura at an investment of $400 million. IEC’s plans will enable the new Ketura power plant to become part of the national grid within four years after the approval and construction of 161-kilowatt high-tension line in the Arava. Arava Power has so far signed exclusive agreements with 15 kibbutzim in the Arava and the Negev for solar photovoltaic fields totalling 500-megawatt. The company has already received a license from the PUA for the construction of a 5 megawatt substation on Kibbutz Ketura at an investment of between NIS 100 million to NIS 120 million. In May 2009, the national planning and building council approved the construction of a 40 MWs solar power station on 600 dunam and ordered the council to start preparing a national outline plan for the station. The station will be constructed adjacent to an existing 161 KV line. The station will be a joint venture between Kibbutz Ketura and Arava Power. The Southern Negev and the Arava are one of the regions in the world where the sun’s rays are the strongest and thus ideal for solar power. In August 2009 Yossef Abramovitch sold 40% of Arava Power to Siemens for $15 million.

In May 2010, The PUA granted a provisional license to set up the first mid range solar plant. the license was granted to Ketura Sun and subsidiary of Arava Power.

Components of the electricity tariff that are approved by the regulator. The electricity regulator has the power to accept (e.g. fuel costs) or reject (possibly pensions) certain components within the final calculation of the approved electricity tariff

Mechanical energy is the energy an object has because of its motion or position and the forces acting on it. >

This term typically refers to the act of establishing and/or managing a large group (aggregate) of energy consumers who join together to leverage their combined purchasing power when soliciting bids from energy suppliers or negotiating rates for services.

A fee charged for the right to send or receive power over another party’s distribution system