Sunday Energy Deals for MidEast’s Largest Rooftop Solar Installation

Israel firm Sunday Energy has announced it will build the largest rooftop solar installation in the Middle East signifying the launch of a whole new solar market for the area, according to company founder and CEO Kobi Dinar.

“Israel is an advanced country, but in solar energy Israel is definitely very late in the game,” he told the Cleantech Group. “The government announced a feed-in tariff for solar energy only last July.”

Sunday is installing the solar system over approximately 15,000 square meters on top of a factory owned by Reno, Nevada-based geothermal developer Ormat Technologies in Yavneh, Israel, expected to be complete in the first half of 2010. It is anticipated to generate energy worth $15.15 million during the next 20 years through a power-purchase agreement with Israel Electric Cooperative, the state-owned utility that is the sole supplier of electricity in the country.

Israel Electric will pay $0.50 per kWh for solar installations up to 50 kW — four times the going price of electricity for consumers. The tariff for installations larger than 50 kW but smaller than 5 MW is still being decided, but it’s currently expected to be about $0.40. The Israeli tariffs guarantee a return of about 12% to 15% for 20 to 25 years, Dinar said. The National Infrastructures Ministry said the tariffs are designed to help Israel reach 20% of energy supplied by renewable sources by 2020.