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Israel‘s leading position in the field of clean-tech innovation has boosted eco-tourism initiatives locally, and entrepreneurs believe thereare endless opportunities to blend clean-tech and tourism in the Holy Land.
“There are many unique and exciting eco-initiatives in Israel, you can’t help but includethat element in any visit to this small country,” Jared Goldfarb, an Israeli tour guide, toldXinhua.
He added that much of the Jewish state’s attraction as a tourism destination is basedon the land itself and by extension easily related to the environmental challenges whichstimulated the development of clean-tech industries in Israel.
“The clean-tech that Israel embarks on is not just because we are highly technologicallydeveloped, but rather because we are dealing with urgent issues that have to do withthe climate and environment we live in,” Goldfarb said.
Faced with an arid climate, few fossil fuels, limited land resources and droughts, it wasonly natural for Israel to become a pioneer in the development of water conservationtechnologies, alternative energy options, smart grid applications, and oil alternatives.
GREEN ENERGY
As necessity is the mother of invention, researchers in both the private and academicsectors have been instrumental in the development of renewable energy innovationsand water technologies.
Given the abundance of sunlight in Israel, solar energy was one of the first alternativeenergy sources Israeli researchers focused on. The country has been the world leaderin the use of solar energy per capita with 85 percent of households using solar thermalsystems, the highest per capita use of solar energy in the world.
In water technologies as well, Israel has been a world leader reclaiming almost 75percent of its reused effluents in agriculture. Drip irrigation, another Israeli invention,exceeds about 90 percent of water efficiency and represents a 30 to 50 percentsavings on water used for irrigation.
Israel’s desalination plants, among the biggest in the world, already supply more than300 million cubic meters (mcm) of water per year, and are set to supply 750 mcmannually by 2020, covering the Jewish state’s total current household waterconsumption.
There are currently three desalination plants in operation in Israel. A plant at Palmahimthat produces 45 mcm annually, a plant at Ashkelon producing 110 mcm and a plant inHadera that produces 127 mcm annually.
Related articles
- Israel to Build $423 Million Desalination Plant (scientificamerican.com)
- The Water/Energy Nexus: Israel Wants to Lead the Way (energyrefuge.com)
- Mekorot to Establish Ashdod Desalination Plant (israelnationalnews.com)
