Israeli Company Building First Wind Turbine Farms in 30 Years

An Israeli company is building wind energy farms for the first time in the country in 30 years. .

Afcon Holdings, a part of the Shlomo Group, is building two farms that will house 25 wind turbines each in Ramat Sirin and Ma'aleh Gilboa, south of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

The turbines will produce 21 megawatts of electricity at any moment and will become operational in 2016, reported Yediot Acharonot.

Israel’s first wind farm was built 30 years ago in the Golan Heights,

The plan for a wind farm at Ramat Sirin was approved 10 years ago after the National Planning and Building Board's committee rejected augments by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel that the farm will damage a scenic open space.

The new wind farms did not receive a green light also overcoming several hurdles by Israel’s Electric Authority and the IDF. Geographically, there are also few sites in Israel with winds strong enough to justify a wind turbine farm.

Some environmental groups also oppose wind farms due to fear that the turbines could harm birds.

The new turbines will measure 29 meters (95.1 feet) each and will produce 850 kilowatts of energy an hour per turbine.