Israel gives its go-ahead for first national ESS prototype park

Planning chiefs in Israel have approved a blueprint for an 800MW/3,200MWh energy storage park comprising a variety of ESS technologies, the government announced on May 2.

The energy and infrastructure ministry said the National Council for Planning and Construction had given the green light for the project in the north of Haaretz — the first time Israel had approved a detailed national outline plan dedicated to energy storage.

The plan, which was set for formal sign-off by the government as Energy Storage Journal went to press in mid-May, provides for the construction of four ESS complexes, each with a capacity of around 200MW to be built in stages “according to the needs of the system and different storage technologies”.

The battery systems would collect and store renewable power produced by solar facilities in the region for transmission via the grid during hours of electricity peak demand.

Energy and infrastructure minister Israel Katz said