Global Wind Day, to celebrate the fastest growing source of renewable energy in the world, passed without a peep in Israel. I am often asked, “There isn’t much wind in Israel. Why should I support wind in Israel?” I’d like to provide some answers to that question.
First, there IS wind in Israel. A good estimate is several thousand megawatts worth of it, but most people don’t pay attention to it because it is invisible unless it rustles the leaves of trees. The long central mountain range, the coast, the Golan, and several areas of the Negev have excellent wind resources. There is actually more wind energy hitting Israel than solar, because wind is concentrated solar energy, and because wind turbines manufacturer can be captured vertically much better than sun, and its capture doesn’t interfere with agriculture.
A variation on the question is, “But we have now found enough gas to last us 40 years!” One response to that is that we live in international markets, and there is no way that the gas it will be saved only for local use. Furthermore, it only helps us put off the day of reckoning. When that day comes, we will have an even harder time fitting in renewable energy that wasn’t part of the planned infrastructure, and our electrical needs will be several times higher. In addition, we need to reverse climate change now.
Secondly, wind energy can contribute to the economy. Wind energy was recently identified as the second best global growth industry for the next five years; this can be a great export market for Israel if it is addressed properly. This means that government money should be allocated home wind generator immediately to help Israeli companies enter the sector more strongly and quickly.
This market for wind energy will only be accelerated by the recent nuclear disaster in Japan and Germany’s decision to drop nuclear power. Two of the world’s major economies are thus going green faster than anticipated. And it is well known that China is accelerating its development of renewable energy.

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