Welcome Letter

Words from the Director General of the National Infrastructures Ministry

Ladies and gentlemen, dear participants of ENERGIN,

The State of Israel is amidst a revolution of its energy industry. The connection of power stations to natural gas sources, which was made possible followed the discovery of commercial quantities of natural gas opposite Israel's shores, has reduced the rate of pollutants by approx. 80% as compared with the pollution levels registered with the use of fuel and gas oils. It also resulted in significant reduction of electricity production costs (more than USD 120 million saved in less than one year in Ashdod's production units only).

Despite the clear advantages of natural gas, Israel still needs additional energy sources for electricity production and for other applications, including transportation, liquefied petroleum gas for household use and cooking, heating, industrial applications, and more.

Concurrently, we witness the progress in the restructuring of Israel Electric Corporation and the growing competition in the electric industry. For this purpose, we introduced new regulations for privately held power and cogeneration stations and are about to issue the directives on electricity production by means of renewable energy. The solar power station, which will be built at the "Ashalim" site, is the first step in this direction.

As a matter of policy, the Ministry of National Infrastructures plans to lead the development of Israel's electricity industry according to the IRP method, which combines electricity production with streamlining initiatives that result in more efficient use of existing resources. As a result of these plans, the areas of energetic streamlining as well as the methodologies needed for implementing streamlining initiative will gain in importance in the near future.

ENERGIN is meant to provide local and international bodies with an opportunity to participate in setting the agenda for Israel's energy industry through exchange of know-how on technical and policy issues.

I hope you will benefit from your involvement in the exhibition and make the most of it in terms of future connections and collaborations.

Sincerely,