New power plant to be built in Ashkelon

Ashkelon power plant

Ashkelon's residents, environmental organizations butt heads with government ministries over construction, say plant to up respiratory disease reports by 10%

17 June 2008

by Yael Ivri-Darel

Israel’s National Infrastructure Committee confirmed Tuesday a proposal to establish a new, additional carbon power plant in Ashkelon. The committee also decided that the conditions of building the plant would include the reduction of poisonous gasses emitted from the city's existing plants in the upcoming years

The plan was confirmed despite protests by the city’s residents, the Ashkelon municipality, the regional council and various environmental organizations.

While the Health Ministry and the Environmental Protection Ministry are against building the plant, the Ministry of National Infrastructures and Israel Electric Corp support it.

According to those in favor of the plant, it will enlarge the possibility for production of electricity in Israel and will prevent a future energy crisis.

According to the Ministry of National Infrastructures, production ability is nearing a record high. This situation will leave the country without electricity reserves. The ministry foresees that in the upcoming years, electricity usage will rise and therefore no choice remains but to build a plant in Ashkelon, also called Plan D, that will be affective by 2015, the latest.

Organizations including Greenpeace, Green Course, the Israel Union for Environmental Defense and individuals including Ashkelon residents and the city’s mayor expressed their strong resistance to the power plant.

Director of Public Health Services in the Health Ministry, Dr. Itamar Grotto, presented the ministry’s adamant opposition to the plant saying that, “according to an initial study, we can estimate that the pollution caused by the plant in Ashkelon will increase the amount of respiratory disease in the area by 10%.”

On the other hand, public figures including Director General of the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Hezi Kugler, believe that “the responsibility exhibited by the committee’s members who acknowledged the unavoidable necessity to establish a project for the functioning of Israel’s energy market is of great importance.”

Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Monday that he intends on brining a motion before the House which will increase energy efficiency in the Israeli market

A Suggestion

As a suggestion, if there is a possibility of a health hazard as well as an environment hazard, it is possible to come up with a means to make the plant environmentally safe or come-up with a different means that would fulfill the same objective that is safer.

Personally, I have always believed in protecting the environment, as well as peoples health; furthermore, I have heard in the pass, that some countries had came up with solutions for the idea that I presented.

From what I see, as a possibility to look into, on how to curtail emissions that create pollution.