Ashalim Power Station

Ashalim is a solar-power complex in the western Negev, near the community of Ashalim. In 2006, the Israeli government selected roughly 10,000 dunams of flat land for two thermosolar stations with a planned combined capacity of 250 megawatts.[6] The project was subsequently described as Israel’s first national solar-power-station project and as part of government policy to expand renewable electricity production.[7]

The approved plan allowed both solar-thermal and photovoltaic facilities.[7] By April 2019, reporting described two solar-thermal stations and a ground-mounted photovoltaic field that was already operating.[8] In 2023, a fourth station—a 40-megawatt photovoltaic plant—received approval to begin commercial operation, bringing the site to two solar-thermal and two photovoltaic stations with 312 megawatts of installed capacity.[1]

A 2017 Institute for National Security Studies memorandum presented Ashalim as a government-initiated project and emphasized the role of thermal storage: “Storage in solar thermal projects enables the continuous flow of renewable energy to the electrical grid.”[2] A 2026 INSS article identified Ashalim as one of the large renewable-energy facilities already operating in the Negev and listed its expansion among the region’s planned solar fields.[9]

The project moved through national planning and tender processes over several years. In March 2009, the National Planning and Building Commission approved land use for a planned 250-megawatt station at Ashalim. The plan included solar-thermal and photovoltaic facilities and cleared a planning barrier to issuing tenders.[7] A 2010 account said the National Planning and Building Council had considered 11 alternatives before selecting the site.[10]

Early plans described three neighboring facilities: two thermosolar plants of approximately 110 megawatts each and a 30-megawatt photovoltaic plant. A 2014 report put their combined planned capacity at about 250 megawatts.[4] The Megalim solar-tower project was described as Israel’s first thermosolar field. Its build-operate-transfer concession included three years of construction and 25 years of operation, with Israel Electric Corporation undertaking to buy its output; the reported financing package was NIS 2.35 billion.[11]

Megalim was developed by a consortium involving BrightSource Energy, Alstom, and the Noy Infrastructure Fund. In 2015, Abengoa, the Spanish partner in the separate Shikun & Binui-led thermosolar project, sought a stay of proceedings in Spain, prompting consideration of legal and operational alternatives.[12] In 2016, Noy Fund and TSK agreed to replace Abengoa, with Shikun & Binui retaining 50% of the concession and construction expected to continue.[13]

Negev Energy was subsequently reported as a joint venture of Shikun & Binui Energy, with 50%; the Noy Infrastructure Fund, with 40%; and Spain’s TSK, with 10%. It had won an Accountant General tender and entered a 2013 franchise agreement covering the planning, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of a 121-megawatt thermosolar plant.[3] Reports described the concession or operating period as either 25 or 28 years.[3][14]

A project description reported that the Ministry of Finance approved a NIS 4 billion funding agreement in July 2015 to advance the Ashalim solar-field project.[15] The fourth station was also developed as a public-private partnership: its developer was responsible for planning, financing, construction, and operation for 25 years, after which the station was to return to the state.[1]

Ashalim’s two solar-thermal stations use different designs. The parabolic-trough station uses concave, sun-tracking mirrors to focus sunlight on a heating element, converting solar radiation into heat used to produce electricity.[2] The Negev Energy plant contains about 16,000 troughs and roughly half a million concave mirrors.[3]

Its molten-salt storage system retains thermal energy for generation after sunset. Reports said it could provide approximately 4.5 additional hours of full-power operation after dark.[3][16] A 2019 account reported an average of 11 operating hours per day. It also said the plant began producing electricity in April 2019, was operating at 95% of full capacity, and was formally inaugurated that August.[14]

The Megalim station uses a solar tower and heliostats. Computer-controlled mirrors track the sun and direct its rays to a receiver atop the tower, where water is heated to produce steam for a turbine. A 2017 report described 50,600 mirrors spread across about three square kilometers, a receiver weighing approximately 2,200 tons, steam temperatures approaching 600°C, pressure of about 170 atmospheres, and generating capacity of 121 megawatts.[17]

Published tower specifications have varied. One project description said 50,000 heliostats would surround a tower planned to rise 820 feet.[15] Ynet reports described the tower as 250 meters during construction and 240 meters in a later report about its reflected light.[17][5] These are reported project figures rather than a single consistent measurement.

Photovoltaic facilities form the other part of the complex. Early plans described a 30-megawatt photovoltaic station, while a 2019 report described an operating ground-mounted field of about 40 megawatts.[4][8] In 2023, a separate 40-megawatt photovoltaic station completed construction and acceptance tests and received approval to begin commercial operation.[1]

The two solar-thermal stations received Electricity Authority approvals to connect to Israel’s national grid in April 2019.[8] Negev Energy began commercial operation that year and supplied renewable electricity to the grid. At its inauguration, the plant was reported to meet the estimated electricity needs of about 70,000 households.[3]

Published land-area figures appear to describe different boundaries or scopes. One account gave the Negev Energy facility an area of 390 hectares, while another described it as a 988-acre plant.[3][14] JNS referred more broadly to a 4,000-acre solar-energy development.[16] The reported construction investment was about NIS 4 billion, and hundreds of workers, subcontractors, and suppliers—most from southern Israel and the Negev—participated in construction.[3]

The thermal plants were connected to natural-gas infrastructure so that electricity could be produced when sunlight was unavailable, including at night. A government announcement cited by Globes said natural gas would not account for more than 15% of the plants’ total capacity. The connection included a 32-kilometer pipeline from Ramat Hovav to Ashalim and pressure-reduction and metering stations.[18]

Negev Energy’s output was to be sold to Israel Electric Corporation under a fixed 25-year agreement.[13] In 2023, the government reported that the fourth photovoltaic station’s tender price was about 8 agorot per kilowatt-hour, which it described as the lowest solar-electricity price in Israel’s electricity market at that time.[1]

Capacity figures changed as plans and facilities developed. The 2017 INSS memorandum gave nominal capacities of 136 megawatts for the parabolic-trough station and 125 megawatts for the solar-tower station.[2] A separate 2017 report projected a completed-complex total of about 310 megawatts.[19] The 2023 government announcement reported installed capacity of 312 megawatts across four stations.[1]

Ashalim was developed as part of Israel’s effort to expand renewable electricity generation. In a 2021 discussion of the energy transition, INSS reported that solar energy’s share of Israeli electricity generation had risen from 2% over the preceding five years to almost 10% in 2020, citing stations in Ashalim and Dimona as examples of initiatives launched. The article also noted that completing a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy by 2050 could remain challenging.[20]

The complex has continued to serve as a platform for solar development in the Negev. In 2023, the government said it was advancing another Ashalim solar complex of up to approximately 100 megawatts and identified a national target of producing 30% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.[1] A February 2026 INSS article identified Ashalim as one of the Negev’s large operating renewable-energy facilities and said its expansion was among the larger solar fields planned for the coming years, without specifying a timetable or capacity.[9]

Earlier descriptions emphasized the project’s expected scale. A 2017 report projected that Ashalim’s plots would generate approximately 310 megawatts, equivalent to roughly 1.6% of Israel’s energy needs, and provide electricity for about 130,000 households once complete. These were forecasts rather than measurements of later operating output.[19]

The selection and layout of the site drew local attention. A 2010 report said residents were concerned that the proposed second thermosolar plot and associated infrastructure could encircle Ashalim and alter the open desert landscape. Officials said environmental considerations had been incorporated into site selection and that the facilities would be separated from homes by distances measured in kilometers.[10]

Residents of Ashalim, Talalim, and nearby areas later complained that reflected light from the Megalim tower was a nuisance. A 2018 account described a glow visible from a distance and reported disagreement over whether it was blinding. Residents raised visual and landscape concerns, while the operator said the reflected light remained within safe limits and posed no health or eye hazard. The regional council’s head described the light as a nuisance but acknowledged the operator’s cooperation with residents.[5]

Published capacity figures differ according to the date, facility, and whether a source reports a planned, nominal, maximum, or installed rating. Early plans commonly described two thermosolar plants of approximately 110 megawatts each and one 30-megawatt photovoltaic plant.[4] Later reporting gave up to 121 megawatts for each thermosolar station and about 40 megawatts for an operating ground-mounted photovoltaic field.[8] The 2023 government total of 312 megawatts covers four stations, including a second 40-megawatt photovoltaic plant.[1]

One 2019 English-language ynet report identified Ashalim as a 121-megawatt photovoltaic station comprising 360 panels.[21] Those figures conflict with planning and grid-connection reports that distinguish the photovoltaic installations from the thermosolar stations rated at up to 121 megawatts each.[4][8] The ynet figures therefore should not be treated as a settled specification for the photovoltaic component.

Forecasts must also be distinguished from later operating records. A project description expected the Megalim complex to be operational by mid-2018, but that forecast alone does not establish its actual commissioning date.[15] Reports of the Negev Energy concession or operating period likewise differ, with accounts giving 25 years in some cases and 28 years in others.[3][14]