The National Council’s Subcommittee on Construction and Regulations approved the regulation requiring new non-residential and detached buildings to build a solar system if the roof area exceeds 250 square meters, regardless of the building’s height. The decision requires the approval of the National Council and the Minister of the Interior.
By Dror Nir Kastel, Nadlan Center
Last Thursday, the Sub-Committee on Construction and Regulations of the National Council approved the regulation requiring new non-residential buildings in Israel to build a solar system. At this stage, these include public buildings, offices, industry, etc., but also single-family homes.
According to the regulations, a building not including residential use will be required to install a photovoltaic installation (solar panels) if its roof area exceeds 250 square meters. In detached homes, the minimum roof area will be 100 square meters, regardless of the height of the building. An engineer can grant an exemption from charging a photovoltaic facility. In addition, the regulations will include “buildings located within the seashore area between the first row of buildings in the locality, facing the sea – which is not a functional part of the beach – and the coastline.”
The regulations continue the government’s decision in February 2023 to set a minimum roof area for installing the systems and not limit the height of buildings. The subcommittee’s decision requires the approval of the National Council, which will convene on August 6 and then go to the public for public comment and approval by the Minister of Interior. According to estimates, the National Council is expected to approve the decision.
Goal: 30% renewable energy by 2030
The regulations have been promoted in recent years by the Ministry of Energy following several government decisions on the subject. The first decision is from 2020, in which the state set a goal that by 2030, 30% of the energy will be renewable energy, most of it solar and some wind, and the rest natural gas. As an interim target, it was determined that by 2025, renewable energy will constitute 20% of all energy production in Israel. However, in 2023, the rate of renewable energy stood at 11.5%, a figure that casts doubt on the country’s ability to meet the targets it has set for itself.
It was also decided that a team would be established, which would include the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Israel Land Authority, the Planning Administration and the prime Minister’s Office, to examine the promotion of measures that would encourage the construction of renewable energy generation facilities in built-up areas and land use.
In 2021, the team presented its conclusions, which included, among other things, examining the anchoring of guidelines for solar energy production in new plans for built-up areas and examining the obligation to build photovoltaic systems on large rooftops in new construction. Another government decision was made a year and a half ago, setting instructions for the Minister of the Interior to install regulations that would require solar panels in new construction. Only after long procrastination did the new regulations come up for discussion last week.
It should be noted that residential buildings were excluded because Regulation 24 of the Building Design Regulations also deals with integrating solar energy systems in high-density residential construction and determines the renewable energy use rate. In the last discussion, objections were raised, mainly from the Manufacturers Association and the Association of Chambers of Commerce, who opposed burdening the regulation while claiming that they tend to install solar panels anyway for economic reasons. On the other hand, green and social organizations and government ministries supported the worsening climate crisis. Installation requires the creation of a minimum-sized solar system to allow penetration of the field. It is believed that those who enter the field will prefer a large system, both because of the matter’s economics and the banking support.
Eitan Parnas, CEO of the Association of Green Energy Companies in Israel, said it was a historic day. “Israel was the first country in the world to require the utilization of solar energy when, in the 1980s, it was mandatory to build solar water heaters in residential buildings. The new regulation is even more dramatic. Solar energy is green, cheap, and readily available, strengthening Israel’s much-needed energy security. Some elements oppose the regulation, and we are strengthening the hands of the National Council, which will soon convene to approve it.”
