The Price of Isolation: Israel's Energy Dilemma

Electricity dominates daily life in Israel-from transportation and the flow of water, to communication, banking, commerce, and refrigeration of food.

Various groups, such as Hezbollah, would go to the extent of even destroying key infrastructure in war-torn areas, such as pipelines, ports, power plants, and offshore gas rigs, which are very vital to energy production in Israel. They may also target important elements of the electric grid, including substations and high-tension towers, thereby disrupting power distribution.

Because of its energy isolation, Israel cannot depend on neighboring grids for emergency supplies of electricity. Most of the country's electricity is generated from natural gas, available in ample supplies offshore. Supplies of the gas come from only three Mediterranean Sea wells-each with its own processing platform and an onshore supply reception facility.

Natural Gas is projected to account for 75% of Israel's electricity this year via a handful of large power stations and substations many of which can easily be identified through Google Maps. In the aftermath of the Hamas invasion, on October 7th, the southernmost rig, Tamar was shut down temporarily due to the risk from rocket damage. In case of an armed conflict with the Hezbollah, all three rigs would be pre-emptively shut off, and the gas supply would shut off in 1.5 hours because there is no reserve gas capacity. This means back to diesel or coal.

Most of its gas-fired power stations are configured to switch to diesel in an emergency. But reserves of diesel and coal, its other fuels, are limited and vulnerable to supply-chain disruption. War might curtail shipments further, especially if Iran-backed attacks on tankers in the Red Sea spread to the Mediterranean, as has been threatened.

In the same speech in Hebrew, the chairman of NOGA's board, Sami Turjeman - a retired IDF general - described fossil fuel power stations as " Achille's heel ": "This is our Achilles heel: dependence on coal and diesel reserves, which have not yet been appropriately stockpiled.".

Turjeman highlighted the necessity of new fossil fuel-based power generation facilities, though at least 30% of Israel's energy mix needs to come from renewable power, as pledged to the UN and further enhancing the security of energy supply for the state. With more than a decade of natural gas development in Israel, renewables - essentially solar - still face quite some work to attain that threshold, given the December reading of 12%.

Energy efficiency is essential for a green recovery, enhancing energy security, and reducing energy poverty. Solutions like FORCE already cut power consumption by 10-15%. To ensure a sustainable energy future in the time of crises like Israel, speeding up energy efficiency across all sectors is crucial. Begin your journey with ENPOSS today.