The World Wants Israel’s Energy And Environmental Innovations

About 10 minutes into my interview with Israel’s special envoy for climate change and sustainability, the president of Andalusia — an autonomous region within Spain — walks in. Gideon Behar waves for me to come with him and President Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla to another room. With security and photographers swarming, the three of us sit at a conference table.

Israel is home to many creative technologies, including water, agriculture, and renewable energy. Not only is the Jewish state making itself more resilient to climate change, but it is also helping multiple nations do the same.

“Israel’s biggest contribution to the climate crisis has been to solve it with innovative climate technologies,” Behar told this writer before Andalusia’s president introduced himself. “We have developed practical, affordable, and scaleable solutions — made stronger because we collaborate with others.”

Our conversation occurred at the COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Israel’s electricity sector relies primarily on natural gas. While Israel is now a natural gas producer, Egypt supplies 57 billion cubic feet of gas annually. Renewables make up 10% of its power, which Israel says will reach 30% by 2030. Jordan and Israel exchange solar power and water, respectively, with each other.

Israel, which aims to be net zero in 2050, emits only 0.2% of the total global CO2 releases. But its technologies are critical to addressing climate change and water shortages. President Moreno Bonilla’s interest centered on water: “We would like to know how Israel does this so we can learn.”

Israel purifies 95% of its water, and it minimizes water leaks. All the water is metered and measured, giving monitors insight into where and when losses occur. It saves customers money, allowing Israel to quit subsidizing water while the revenues to get reinvested into the infrastructure.

Potable drinking water is in short supply throughout the Middle East. Using desalination plants, Israel produces 85% of its drinkable water from the Mediterranean Sea. The United States, Australia, the Middle East, North Africa, and China also desalinate seawater. Israeli-owned IDE Americas provides the technology to the Poseidon plant in Santa Barbara, which is near Los Angeles and produces nearly 3 million gallons of water a day, or 30% of the city’s demand. It also has a facility in Carlsbad, near San Diego.

Lack of Rainfall

Days earlier at the conference, Special Envoy Behar met with Chinese officials to discuss water, agriculture, and renewable energy. For example, China is a global leader in solar and methanol, and Israel aims to run as many as 60% of its vehicles with natural gas, biofuel, and electricity by 2025. At the same time, China is helping Israel install solar plants and pumped hydro storage facilities.

Meanwhile, Israeli-owned Doral Renewables LLC is building the Mammoth solar project in Indiana. Developers will complete The 1.3-gigawatt project in 2024 — a $1.5 billion investment. Bank of AmericaBAC
and PNC Bank are among their customers. As for BofA, the solar farm will provide 17% of its global electricity demand for its operations in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The solar facility will avoid 40,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and conserve 1 billion gallons of water annually. “This project will be a model for solar energy in Indiana and the Midwest as a whole,” says Chief Executive Nick Cohen of Doral LLC, the U.S.-based unit.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Eco Wave produces electricity from the ocean and seawalls. Its 5-megawatt project will provide 15% of the country’s electricity needs. Australia, China, and the United States are also developing wave energy. Energy from the ocean is more predictable than wind or solar power.

Furthermore, Augwind specializes in energy storage. It is working with EDF Renewables to build and operate a 5-megawatt photovoltaic power plant that harnesses surplus renewable power as compressed air. It is constructing 2.5 gigawatts of energy storage inside of Israel.

But water remains the major challenge. Precipitation only occurs during the winter, necessitating planting trees and developing a root system, all monitored by satellites.

Enter the forest: about 120 years ago, Jewish settlers bought land and prepared it to grow food. They sustain the landscape and nourish the trees to harvest the water. One technique is to navigate the runoff from the hillsides before collecting it and using the water to irrigate the land — a process that doubles or triples what rainfall provides.

“Before the global community agreed to climate principles, the extreme weather events became more frequent: wind storms, floods, and heavy rainfall over short periods,” says Dr. Michael Sprintsin, a forest engineer for the Jewish National Fund, which has planted 250 million trees in Israel.

“This is eroding the soil, and we are losing the productive layer,” he told this writer during the COP27 conference. “The soil is washing into the streams. But we are planting trees along the banks, which strengthens the soil and prevents erosion. We are becoming more adaptive. We also treat the trees to survive with less water for longer periods.”

The world is demanding climate action. And Israel is offering solutions. Andalusia is a case in point. But so are China, Europe, and the United States, which is already using Israeli-made solar and water technologies — the kind of innovation we need to get to net zero and avoid environmental descent.