Enlight Renewable Energy, an Israel-based company, has begun commercial operations at its Genesis Wind project in the north of the country.
First power from the wind farm was generated in June 2023. It will initially feature 34 General Electric wind turbines, which will generate an aggregate of 180MW.
An additional five turbines will be installed later, bringing the total capacity of the project to 207MW.
At full capacity, the wind farm will be Israel's largest clean energy project, generating enough clean energy for 70,000 homes while contributing to 180,000 tonnes of carbon savings annually.
The power generated from the wind farm will be sold under a 20-year inflation-linked power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Israel Electric Corporation.
Enlight has invested almost $340m (NIS1.36bn) in the project. During the first year of the wind farm’s operation, the company anticipates $49–51m in revenue generation and $39–41m in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
A new 27km, 161kV underground high-voltage transmission cable has also been built to connect the wind farm to the country’s national grid.
This will assist the development of more clean energy projects in the region.
The transmission line is part of Enlight’s strategy, which aims to maximise the number of projects connected to a given area’s key transmission infrastructure.
Enlight Renewable Energy CEO Gilad Yaavetz stated: “Despite the tragic events in Israel during the past week [the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023], the company is continuing to operate normally. After years of hard work, the vision has now become a reality, as the largest renewable energy project in Israel commences commercial operation.
“We see Genesis Wind as a major step in the Golan Heights, amongst the additional projects that we plan to develop in the region.”
In September 2023, the company began operations at a combined solar and storage project, the Arad Valley 1 in Israel. The project’s solar capacity is 17MW and its storage capacity 31 megawatt-hours (MWh).
It is the second of the company's combined solar and storage project to launch commercial operations, following the 40MW and 71MWh Sde Nitzan project in August 2023.
