Israeli solar village prototype for 21st century

from Haaretz.com


Solar energy shines throughout Negev village

By Nir Hasson

Israel's first multipurpose solar electricity system for providing power to an entire community was initiated on Tuesday during a festive ceremony in the Negev village of Darajat.

Until recently, the Arab village of Darajat, like many other communities in the Negev, was not recognized by the state and therefore not eligible for government assistance when it came to water supply, construction and, specifically, electrical power. Now, in an experiment to test the limits of solar power, the government and Interdan, a private natural-electricity company, are fitting houses, community centers, mosques and roads in Darajat with solar electricity systems.

Gil Nezer, Interdan's marketing director, contends that Darajat is the first community in the world to be fitted with a solar electricity system designed to supply all of its needs. In Darajat, solar electricians assert, residents will be able to use just about any electrical appliance powered by natural electricity even at night or on cloudy days, except for air conditioners and heaters.

Located north of the Be'er Sheva-Dimona road, Darajat is the only Arab village in the Negev whose residents are agricultural laborers, like the Palestinians, as opposed to Bedouin nomads. The village, established 150 years ago by the Abu Hamad family from Mount Hebron and the Negev, was not officially recognized by the state until two years ago. As a result, Darajat dwellers built their community - schools, mosque, and clinic alike - without external financial assistance; and, until recently, 24 private generators fueled the community, charging exorbitant fees for a few hours of power a day. The chairman of the village committee, Ishak Abu Hamad, says that residents pay NIS 1.5 million a year to run the generators a mere four hours a day and night.

The Ministry of National Infrastructure proposed connecting Darajat homes to a solar electricity system six months after the state recognized the village. The Negev Development Authority and MK Shimon Peres' office for developing the Negev and Galilee, among others, enlisted in the effort. Interdan began connecting homes to the natural electricity system a month ago.

Interdan executives hope that Darajat will serve as a model for spreading solar electricity throughout Israel. "Israel has the perfect climate conditions for it; but as far as the political climate is concerned, we lag behind other Western countries in this area," Nezer says.

However, the installation of infrastructure in the village is experiencing delays. So far the system has been installed on a trial basis in 20 of the 95 households in the village; the science room of the local school; the mosque; and streetlights. In addition, independently operated systems were also installed in each village house. The roofs have been fitted with eight square-meter solar panels and a small unit with a converter and batteries that supplies electricity at night and on cloudy days. The system, Interdan officials promise, can operate continuously for four days without direct sunlight, or for a week with partly cloudy skies. However, in the heart of the Negev desert, four days without sun is a rarity.

When the village is hooked up to the national electricity grid, houses with solar systems will be connected using a bi-directional electricity meter. In other words, Darajat residents will not only be able to use solar energy, but they will also be able to sell electricity to the national grid, meaning that the electricity they supply to the system will be deducted from their own electricity bills.

In the meantime, however, Darajat residents will still have to endure the noise of the generators because most of the houses in the village are still not connected to the solar system. Peres, who attended the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, promised that funding would soon be found to hook up the remaining houses in the village to the system.