Golan Heights wind farm
| Golan Heights Wind Farm | |
|---|---|
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 | |
| Country |
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| Location | |
| Coordinates | 33°05′N 35°50′E / 33.08°N 35.83°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | 1992 |
| Owner | Mey Eden |
| Wind farm | |
| Type | Onshore |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity |
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| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The Golan Heights Wind Farm is an Israeli wind farm located 1050 m above sea level on Mount Bnei Rasan 5 km south of Quneitra in the Golan Heights. The wind farm was built in 1992 by the Mey Eden (Waters of Eden) mineral water company, supported by the then-Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.
It includes 10 Floda 600 wind turbines generating 6 MW in total. The energy is consumed by the Mey Eden plant, the Golan Heights Winery and about 20,000 people. The remaining energy is fed into the electrical grid.
Mey Eden built Israel's first wind farm, or even the first commercial wind-power project in the Middle East.[1]
The installation was based upon an extensive wind resource assessment carried out in 20 sites in the Golan Heights for about three years.[2]
Future plans
Mineral water company Mey Golan (Waters of Golan) was granted a license to build a $500 million and 400 MW wind farm also on the Golan Heights. The project consists of about 150 turbines spread over 140 km,2 in north-eastern Golan Heights from the Druze village Majdal Shams to moshav Alonei HaBashan and will be built predominantly within privately owned orchards.
The partnership between Mey Golan and US energy giant AES Corporation is worth $600 million.[3]
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry a number of wind farms are planned in the Galilee, the Arava and the Negev. A number of actions was taken,[4] among those are:
- Identification of wind-intensive sites
- Granting and licensing assistance to wind farm developers
- R&D support
For Yoav Tsur, Israel's only wind farm operator so far, the future of the wind farm is uncertain due to the talks with Syria.[5]
References
- ^ Middle-East’s First Wind-Farm CleanBeta, June 13, 2008
- ^ Mey Golan Wind Energy Ltd.
- ^ AES, Mei Golan to build wind turbines farm, HaAretz, Apr. 16, 2008
- ^ Israel’s first wind energy developer .. gets windier on the Golan GreenProphet, Aug. 8, 2008
- ^ The Golan Heights Hadassah magazine, Oct, 2000
