Jun 4 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Dalia Tal and Lior Baron Globes, Tel Aviv, Israel

The energy revolution has begun with the decision by the Public Utilities Authority -Electricity that from July, any person who installs a photovoltaic solar system on his property can sell the electricity produced to the national power grid at a tariff of NIS 2.01 per kilowatt hour.

Israel will join a list of countries worldwide such as Germany, the US, Japan, Italy, and Spain, which for some years have been offering their citizens financial incentives to produce their own clean electricity.

Private producers will able to install photovoltaic solar systems with a production capacity of up to 15 kilowatts. The approximate cost of installation of a 10-kilowatt system is NIS 300,000. This will translate into return on investment in seven to 10 years. Other consumers can install systems with a production capacity of up to 50 kilowatts, although no tariff has yet been set for them.

The Utilities Authority also decided that the tariff will be paid to consumers for total production of up to 50 kilowatts, or production over a seven year period, whichever comes first. The authority apparently wishes to give those people who install systems a safety net that will signal its support for initiatives like these.