Arava Power Company

History

Arava Power Company cites Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, as an inspiring figure for the vision of the company. In 1956, Ben Gurion said: "The largest and most impressive source of energy in our world and the source of life for every plant and animal, yet a source so little used by mankind today is the sun... Solar energy will continue to flow toward us almost indefinitely."

In August 2008, Siemens Project Ventures invested $15 Million in the Arava Power Company. In a press release published that month, Peter Löscher, President and CEO of Siemens AG said: “This investment is another consequential step in further strengthening our green and sustainable technologies”. Siemens now holds a 40% stake in the company.

On November 21, 2010, the Minister of National Infrastructure, Uzi Landau, signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Ketura Sun Company (owned by Arava Power Company) worth an estimated 250 Million NIS. The agreement is valid for twenty years and guarantees that the energy produced at Ketura Sun will be transferred to the Israel Electric Corporation’s power lines. It is the first PPA in Israel with a solar energy company.

In December 2010, Bank Hapoalim signed an agreement with Arava Power to extend a loan of 80 Million NIS to APC in order to fund the Ketura Sun project (valued at ~100 Million NIS).

On June 5, 2011, APC inaugurated Israel’s first solar field, Ketura Sun.

On May 22, 2012 Arava Power announced that it had reached financial close on an additional 58.5 MW for 8 projects to be built in the Arava and the Negev valued at 780 Million NIS or approximately $204 Million. APC Co-Founder Yosef Abramowitz stated, "Our work is not yet done. Israel needs to adopt the European Union goal of 20 % Renewables by 2020 and this major milestone by Arava Power is proof positive that it can be reached. Furthermore, an injustice must be corrected by creating a special quota of solar fields for Bedouin land owners, who are locked out of the current solar program."

Ketura Sun

Ketura Sun is the first commercial medium size solar field in Israel, as well as the first solar field in the Middle East. The solar field is built on the premises of Ketura, an income-sharing community in the Arava Valley, in the south of Israel about 45 minutes north of Eilat. This location has some of the highest levels of solar radiation in the world and at the same time enables a direct connection to Israel’s national grid.
The solar field covers an area of 80 dunams (8 hectares or 20 acres) with its 18,500 Suntech photovoltaic solar panels. The total production is 9 Million kilowatt hours per year with an installation power of 4.95 MW.

Partnership with Bedouins

The Arava Power Company has signed multiple agreements with Bedouin families in the Negev desert to build solar fields on approximately 92 acres of land, with a production capability of up to 20 megawatts. APC has been lobbying the Israeli government to create separate solar caps for Bedouins.

On February 7, 2012, Arava Power announced that it had received a license for the Tarabin Solar Field, the first solar field for the Bedouin community. Financing for the $30 Million Tarabin installation is to be provided by OPIC – the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United States Government.

Aside from enabling the Bedouin community to benefit from governmental incentives that promote renewable energy in the Arava and Negev, solar fields provide livelihood and employment. The Israel Electric Corporation is obligated by law to buy privately produced electricity at a predictable and fixed cost. It is believed that construction of solar sites will develop the region’s infrastructure.

In January 2011, Musa Abu Karinat, an Israeli Bedouin who signed an agreement with Arava Power, told Haaretz “Our village has proper electricity infrastructure, so we don’t need the plant for electricity for the village. Our goal is to build a solar farm on private land owned by a particular family, and to sell the energy it will produce to the national energy grid.”

Regulatory goals

Before 2006, Israel had very few government regulations and statutes regarding solar energy. The company's regulatory goals include:

Social mission

Arava Power Company is committed to corporate social responsibility. Within the Torah’s rules for Tzedakah (charitable giving) is the law of Pe'ah. Pe’ah requires that the four corners of any field be left untouched by harvesters and saved for the poor to glean. Arava Power Company is giving Pe’ah a modern twist, dedicating the four corners of the Ketura Sun solar field to four different non-profit organizations that will benefit from the funds earned by each corner for the next 20 years.

The four organizations are:

Arava Power’s commitment to the law of Pe’ah has been made permanent with the placement of a statue of Ruth created by former Ketura artist Gil Aruch, at the entrance to the field. The Biblical story of Ruth is one of tolerance, social-religious acceptance and justice. The Royal Tribe of Judah accepts Ruth the Moabite, the convert who comes from a foreign culture and enemy land.

Solar creativity

Arava Power Company has done a variety of creative projects to raise social awareness for solar energy in Israel.

Rapper Shyne recently released a new song entitled “Solar Energy”. Shyne premiered the song on June 5, 2011, at the Ketura Sun launch.

Arava Power partnered with Mayumana, an Israeli dance troupe, to create a promotional video for the Israel EcoCinema Festival. The video was used a second time as Arava Power Company’s video-invitation to launch of Ketura Sun in 2011.