05.07.2009

This is an 87 MW IPP established in Ashkelon that provides half of its output to the water desalination plant on its premises and the other half is sold to end consumers such as the Nilit plant and Mekorot or the grid. The station received its provisional license in March 2008 and its permanent generation license in February 2009. The station was erected at a total cost of $100 million dollars. It is composed of two 32 MW GE natural gas turbines and one Siemens 23 MW CCGT turbine. In August 2005, Yam Tethys signed an agreement with Delek Ashkelon for the supply of gas to the IPP by the Ashkelon desal plan, the supply of which started with the connection of the plant to the Natural Gas transmission line and will continue for 15 years or until 30.6.2022. YT is in negotiations with the Delek Ashkelon IPP to increase the supply of gas, which currently stands at 0.12 bcm per year. Total value of the contract (100%) is about $160 million
In August 2009, Yam Tethys signed an additional agreement with Delek’s IPP to sell an additional 0.015 bcm of gas per year until 2010 only for an additional $6 million or for about $5.6 mmbtu. The contract terms will be re-opened in 2010.

Non-organic, non-flammable substance left over after combustible material has been completely burned

A transaction where a willing (but not anxious) seller and buyer, with no prior relationship, act independently to reach an agreement. It is important for a transaction to be at arms’ length to demonstrate that price and other requirements are fair and representative of transactions of similar type in the market and are not friendly transactions to, for example, avoid tax

An analyst at Goldman-Sachs who has predicted the last few spikes in oil accurately

A quick purchase in one market and sale in another to benefit from different price structures or changes in prices. This is a risk free profit due to the ability to buy an asset at a low price and sell it at a higher price on different markets, as long as the higher price is higher than the buying and selling expenses

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.

Aquifers are underground porous, permeable rock formations that act as natural water reservoirs. However, in certain situations, these water containing formations may be reconditioned and used as natural gas storage facilities. As they are more expensive to develop than depleted reservoirs, these types of storage facilities are usually used only in areas where there are no nearby depleted reservoirs. Traditionally, these facilities are operated with a single winter withdrawal period, although they may be used to meet peak load requirements as well. Aquifers are the least desirable and most expensive type of natural gas storage facility for a number of reasons. First, the geological characteristics of aquifer formations are not as thoroughly known, as with depleted reservoirs. A significant amount of time and money goes into discovering the geological characteristics of an aquifer, and determining its suitability as a natural gas storage facility. Seismic testing must be performed, much like is done for the exploration of potential natural gas formations. The area of the formation, the composition and porosity of the formation itself, and the existing formation pressure must all be discovered prior to development of the formation. In addition, the capacity of the reservoir is unknown, and may only be determined once the formation is further developed. In order to develop a natural aquifer into an effective natural gas storage facility, all of the associated infrastructure must also be developed. This includes installation of wells, extraction equipment, pipelines, dehydration facilities, and possibly compression equipment. Since aquifers are naturally full of water, in some instances powerful injection equipment must be used, to allow sufficient injection pressure to push down the resident water and replace it with natural gas. While natural gas being stored in aquifers has already undergone all of its processing, upon extraction from a water bearing aquifer formation the gas typically requires further dehydration prior to transportation, which requires specialized equipment near the wellhead. Aquifer formations do not have the same natural gas retention capabilities as depleted reservoirs. This means that some of the natural gas that is injected escapes from the formation, and must be gathered and extracted by ‘collector’ wells, specifically designed to pick up gas that may escape from the primary aquifer formation. In addition to these considerations, aquifer formations typically require a great deal more ‘cushion gas’ than do depleted reservoirs. Since there is no naturally occurring gas in the formation to begin with, a certain amount of natural gas that is injected will ultimately prove physically unrecoverable. In aquifer formations, cushion gas requirements can be as high as 80 percent of the total gas volume. While it is possible to extract cushion gas from depleted reservoirs, doing so from aquifer formations could have negative effects, including formation damage. As such, most of the cushion gas that is injected into any one aquifer formation may remain unrecoverable, even after the storage facility is shut down.

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.

Emissions of GHG’s caused by human activities