Tzafit Gas Fired Power Plant, Israel

Key Data

Tzafit power station is an 835MW combined cycle natural gas fired plant under construction in Israel. It is located 40km southeast of Tel Aviv. It will be the largest privately-held power plant in the country. Its capacity is equivalent to 7% of the total installed power generation capacity of Israel.

The plant is being built by Dalia Power Energies, a company owned by Energy Economy (43.3%), Hiram Epsilon (43.3%), Sigma Epsilon (3.3%) and the Israel Infrastructure Fund (10%).

"The state-owned power producer IEC had a production reserve of just about 5% in 2008."

The Tzafit power station received national infrastructure project status from the Israeli Government in May 2009. The project will benefit the consumers by offering cheaper electricity.

The plant will have a life of ten years. Commissioning is expected in 2014.

Tzafit power station history

The plan to set up a gas fired power plant took shape with the establishment of Dalia Power Energies in July 2005. The company initially considered the estuary of the River Dalia between Zichron Yaakov and the coast to host the plant.

The site was, however, altered later to the Tel Tzaft region after in-depth examination of various environmental aspects in consultation with the National Infrastructures Committee.

Development of the combined cycle natural gas fired plant

The project is being developed in two stages. The completion of stage 1 will be marked by the successful start of the plant's operations in 2014. The second stage will involve upgrading the open cycle plant to an integrated cycle of 800MW.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed for long term purchase agreement of natural gas from the Tamar gas field. The Tethys Consortium, led by Noble Energy, owns and operates the field. It will supply 200 billion cubic feet of natural gas worth $1bn over 17 years if the agreement is executed.

Construction of the Israeli station

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the plant was awarded to Alstom in June 2011. The contract is valued at €500m.

Alstom will construct two 417MW combined cycle units. It will supply balance of plant (including the substation), distributed control system and switchyard equipment too.

The company was also awarded a 20-year operations and maintenance contract for the plant in July 2011. The €330m contract makes the company responsible for day-to-day operations and maintenance of the plant.

Plant details

The plant is being built on agricultural land located at Tzafit North, in a village named Mavo Beitar. A power and switching station of Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) is situated adjacent to the site. The land measures 64 dunams (6.4ha).

The combined cycle units are based on a single-shaft configuration. Each unit contains a combined cycle gas turbine (GT26 of Alstom make), steam turbine, generator and heat recovery steam generator.

Grid network and distribution

The produced electricity can be fed to both the northern and southern sections of the national power grid, as the site is located just at the intersection of the grid.

The power will be distributed to IEC and business customers, upon reaching the national grid.

Local environmental impact

The plant will use a clean development mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will produce 859,415 Certified Emissions Reductions per annum.

The energy efficiency will be higher (57%) when compared to conventional power plants (35%) that use single-cycle technology. The integration in the second stage of development will improve the energy efficiency to 60% and further reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

Israel power market

Israel is facing a shortage of electricity due to higher than expected power consumption and slower growth of production capacity.

"Tzafit power station is an 835MW combined cycle natural gas fired plant under construction in Israel."

The state-owned power producer IEC had a production reserve of just about 5% in 2008. It was anticipated that an estimated increase of 3.2% in annual consumption would cause the reserves to vanish by 2009.

The government enacted the electricity utilities law to open up the domestic power market to private sector. This move is expected to result in private companies contributing to about 20% power production in the country by 2020.

Aerial view of the Tzafit plant site.

The plant will be located adjacent to a Dalia Power Energies power station.

Illustration of integrated circuit station in stage two of the project.