February Edition 2021

9 Cost is key. Illuz says: “One of the most relevant issues is seeking financial resources. While businesses traditionally relied on banks and financial institutions, nowadays they are raising capital from the public, thus most of the large renewable energy companies are public companies.” “Another concern is the battery energy storage system (BESS),” he adds. All recent projects promoted by the government include a requirement for an integrated BESS. These systems are still technologically immature and are very expensive. Furthermore, the global market for batteries features an enormous and ever-growing demand. In comparison e.g., to solar panels, which, similarly, were at first less efficient and very expensive, and became highly efficient and less costly over time, one can expect that the same will happen with the BESS. In addition to financing, land is also vital, with getting planning permission critical. Phillips adds: “I think some of the biggest challenges that face developers revolve around land issues. The Israel Lands Authority owns / administers large areas of Israel and developing any projects on ILA land requires jumping through multiple bureaucratic hoops. The process also takes time – as does dealing with zoning and planning issues with local or national planning committees. Other than that, the Electricity Authority publishes the regulatory arrangements and tariffs for projects which are often updated which can lead to some issues for developers and lenders. Having said that, the EA does always publish its proposed changes to give the relevant players the opportunity to comment which does give some transparency to the whole process.” Phillips believes: “I think there will be more renewable projects being developed in solar, wind and hydro in order to meet the 30% target. In addition,with the technological advancesaroundstorage, it seems likely that Israel will look to promote storage capacity which will create opportunities for new players in the market. As the “energy tech” sector develops, there will also be opportunities to invest in companies developing products and services aimed at the renewable energy market.” Main challenges confronting businesses