Rural communities are being thrown into turmoil by a state program to build 13 new gas-fired power plants, which allows developers to negotiate directly with kibbutzim and farming cooperatives for land — even for projects that might never come to fruition.

Talks are underway to build four power plants within or along the borders of the Hefer Valley Regional Council in central Israel, and the local government has advised communities approached by entrepreneurs to vote such proposals down.

The dispute has already gotten personal. At Kibbutz Givat Haim Meuhad, located near Hadera in the Hefer Valley, the kibbutz chairman’s 10-year-old son was reportedly ostracized and harassed by schoolmates from other communities because his father supported the establishment of a power plant on kibbutz land. The kibbutz subsequently voted against the move by a slight majority.

The neighboring Kibbutz Givat Haim Ihud (formed in 1952 during a political rift that split the original Kibbutz Givat Haim into two distinct communities) subsequently rejected the same motion by a margin of nearly two to one. The proposed deal for both kibbutzim came from London-based Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

Israel is significantly behind its own targets for developing renewable energy sources, especially solar power.

The move to build more gas-fired power plants is part of the implementation of Government Decision 2282, approved in October 2024, to ensure energy continuity through 2040. It mandates building infrastructure for renewables mostly in the country’s periphery, and for gas-fired energy primarily in the center, where most of the population lives.

Based on a report by an interministerial team led by the Energy Ministry that was never completed or published, the state decided that up to 13 gas-fired power plants would need to be built in six districts, created specifically for the project, and covering much of Israel, but that plans should be drawn up for 19 plants to encourage competition.

However, instead of defining exactly where those plants should be built, the government........

© The Times of Israel