Energy Ministry presents strategic roadmap for renewable energy by 2035

Plan, to be presented to president, details path to more than double renewable energy production, get rid of obstacles, improve coordination

The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure is to present a new National Strategic Plan for Renewable Energy to the president and his climate forum on Wednesday.

Published for public comment until June 18, it sets a target of 26 Gigawatts of installed renewable energy, most of it solar, by 2035. Of that figure, just 8 Gigawatts have been installed to date, with a further 4 Gigawatts under construction.

By the end of last year, only 16% of the nation’s electricity came from renewables, missing the 20% target for 2025 and placing Israel second-to-last in the OECD ranking for renewable production. The national goal for 2030 is 30%.

The report says that while there is ample technical potential (25 Gigawatts) and no shortage of willing entrepreneurs with approved plans, the main problem is not a lack of interest—it is the electricity grid itself. It has run out of room.

The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) has secured a NIS 40-billion ($14 billion) loan, repayable over 45 years, to finance grid expansion through 2030.

Full implementation will enable the grid to accommodate enough additional power to meet the 30% target by the end of the decade, or a couple of years beyond that.

But time-consuming planning, complex regulations, and other issues could significantly derail implementation.

Furthermore, there is no coordination between the involved government bodies. Despite the country’s limited land resources, the Israel Lands Authority favors large solar fields because it makes money by selling the plots.  The planning authorities and the Environmental Protection Ministry want solar panels on existing facilities, such as roofs and sports grounds, to preserve as much open space as possible. The Finance Ministry opposes this so-called dual-use option because it is partly subsidized by the public. The Agriculture Ministry backs agro-voltaics (which generate power while also providing shade for crops) but wants more time to assess and develop the new technology.

The plan weighs the pros and cons of different combinations of land-based and dual-use facilities and proposes a breakdown that reflects what the ministry considers the best balance between cost, feasibility, efficient land use, and proximity to consumers.

The 14 Gigawatts that still need to be built by 2035 would come from agro-voltaics (5 Gigawatts), solar fields (4.5 Gigawatts), dual-use facilities (4 Gigawatts), and innovation and niche technologies, such as wave energy (0.5 Gigawatts ).

Beyond setting targets, the strategy outlines concrete steps to streamline planning and remove implementation obstacles. It requires a NIS 15.5 billion ($5.4 billion) investment to reach the 35% goal, with some of the funding already baked into the NIS 40 billion national grid expansion budget.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen said, “Generating electricity from renewable energies strengthens the energy security of the Israeli economy, contributes to the diversification of energy sources and the reduction of air pollution, and is necessary to meet the growing demands following the AI ​​revolution.”