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Wind Power News: Israel
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Environment minister seeks moratorium on new wind farms to probe impact on nature
Seven new wind turbines that will tower over the Golan at the height of Tel Aviv skyscrapers were given the green light Monday by the National Infrastructure Council. If Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg has her way, they will be the last ones for at least five years. Zandberg said Monday she was seeking a five-year moratorium on new wind turbine projects to allow for an assessment of existing turbines’ effects on nature, and particularly on birds and bats. She . . . Complete story »
Israel skeptical about its wind farms due to ecological risks
Environment Minister Zandberg recommends suspending developments in country’s wind power generation, citing ‘negligible contribution’ to power production compared to severe toll on environment. Israel would reconsider expanding its use of wind power facilities due to the risk turbines pose to populations of migratory birds, the country’s Environmental Protection Ministry said on Monday. Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg presented her ministry’s white paper on the issue before the Knesset’s Committee on Special National Infrastructure Projects was set to convene to discuss . . . Complete story »
Ten protesters, four police injured in clashes over Golan Heights wind turbine project
Ten demonstrators and four police officers were injured in clashes Wednesday morning in the northern Golan Heights, as residents protested the building of wind turbines on agricultural land that belongs to Druze villages in the area, police said. Residents reported that police fired sponge-tipped bullets and tear gas at the demonstrators and farmers in the fields, and police said they arrested eight people. Medical sources said that the Majdal Shams hospital and Ziv Medical Center in Safed treated nine people . . . Complete story »
Syrians in Golan Heights wounded and arrested in clashes with Israeli forces
Ten Syrians in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights were wounded during clashes with military police forces on Wednesday in protest against the construction of wind turbines to generate electricity which will benefit Israeli settlements in the area. Syrian Druze have called for a general strike and for shops and schools to close. A clash subsequently erupted in an orchard, where ten Syrians were wounded after Israeli forces shot tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. Israeli military police said that around 300 Syrian . . . Complete story »
Druze protesters clash with police over turbine construction, 8 arrested
Around 300 Druze residents in the Golan Heights, near the Israeli-Syrian border, protested on Wednesday against the construction of wind turbines on agricultural land planned by the Energix Group. According to Israel Police, Energix legally bought the right to use the land from the owners, and the first two days of construction went off without demonstrations. However, following reports of a planned protest, police increased the amount of officers guarding the site, fearing violence. During the demonstrations, clashes broke out . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine plan in northern Israel rejected over environmental impact
A national committee has decided to reject an appeal that the entrepreneurs behind a wind turbine plan in northern Israel filed against a decision not to approve their initiative. The National Planning and Building Council Appeals Committee decided that building turbines in the Ramat Menashe region would have a negative effect on the environment, including damage to the landscape, a risk to several rare birds and possible noise hazards. The plan was promoted by Energix, which planned to build nine . . . Complete story »
People of Golan reiterate rejection of Israeli occupation’s plans to wind turbines on their land
The people of the occupied Syrian Golan reiterated their rejection of the Israeli occupation authorities’ attempts to seize their lands and build wind turbines on them. The people of Golan organized a public movement, putting up signs on the sides of the roads and lands on which the occupation authorities intend to build turbines, warning strangers and settlers from entering them. The Israeli occupation plans to build 45 wind turbines for generating electricity, which will involve seizing over 600 hectares . . . Complete story »
Full strike in occupied Syrian Golan in protest of Israeli plan for wind turbines
The people of occupied Syrian Golan on Sunday staged a general strike in the protest of the aggressive and expansionary Israeli practices and measures against the Golanese, the last of which is setting up “wind turbines” on their agricultural lands and confiscating their properties by force. The strike comes after a meeting held by the religious figures and dignitaries from the Golan in Majdal Chams town on Saturday. In a statement to SANA reporter in Quneitra, the people of the . . . Complete story »
Israel green lights hundreds of wind turbines in northern Israel
Plans to construct hundreds of wind turbines in northern Israel were granted government approval on Wednesday, boosting renewable energy production while answering security needs. The green light was given after an agreement was reached between the Energy Ministry, Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry and the Electricity Authority. Under the agreement, the ministries will invest NIS 250 million ($72.4m.) in developing technologies to ensure that the construction of the wind turbine farms will not impact security considerations. The agreement will enable the . . . Complete story »
Israel’s Golan Druze see a blow in wind energy plan
The Druze say the turbines present a slew of concerns. They contend that the giant, soaring poles and the infrastructure needed to construct them will impede their ability to work their plots, exacerbating their already tenuous economic situation, which has grown dire since the war in Syria halted their exports to a key market. They also say the turbines will disturb the almost sacred bond they feel to their land, which is passed down by generation and where families flee their cramped villages for fresh air and green space. Landowners who signed lease agreements with Energix, the company behind the project, say they weren’t made aware of the potential implications of having a turbine on their plot. They say they were tempted by hefty sums into signing what they describe as draconian leases that, coupled with a boycott on the company imposed by influential religious leaders, has prompted many to want to withdraw. Complete story »
