Ofer Yannay, head of solar energy company Nofar Energy, proposed the creation of two electric super grids that he said could solve the world’s energy needs.
Speaking at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York on Monday, Yannay suggested a plan that would be implemented in two stages. The first would be an electric super grid that would take renewable energy from Africa generated by sun, wind and water and transfer the energy to Europe via DC high voltage lines. The sale of electricity to Europe, he said, would fund the construction of the grid, and new African water desalination plants using Israeli technology would utilize the grid to supply clean water to the African continent.
Yannay next proposed the construction of an African-European-Asian super grid that would take solar energy from Africa and transfer it to China and India.
In the cooperative spirit of the Abraham Accords, he suggested that Israeli and Arab entrepreneurs could combine to create these massive projects.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine,” said Yannay, “showed the world that energy can be a weapon of war. An Israeli-Arab cooperation to solve the climate crisis would show the world that energy can be a tool for peace and prosperity.”
“The Abraham Accords unleashed a tidal wave of cooperation between Israel and the Arab world, but the promise lies in a partnership between Israeli and Arab individuals – the same creativity and ingenuity of Nofar energy that brings clean light to Israel can be scaled up to bring light and water to all the nations of the world.”
Ofer Yannay
Nofar Energy: Israel and the renewable energy revolution
Nofar Energy, the company that Yannay founded in 2012, generates clean energy and storage facilities across three continents and, last year, supplied 1% of Israel’s total electricity consumption. On Sunday, Yannay launched the English-language version of New Under the Sun, the book about the renewable energy revolution, in which he traced the company’s breakthrough accomplishments of implementing unique photovoltaic technology in Israel on solar panels placed on bodies of water and an energy storage facility that absorbs surplus solar energy during the day and releases it to the country’s national grid at night.
“Historically,” said Yannay, “Jews have been a light to the nations. Today our mission is to bring cheap, clean light to the nations. The world’s challenge is to supply power for a growing population while protecting our planet.
“The Abraham Accords unleashed a tidal wave of cooperation between Israel and the Arab world, but the promise lies in a partnership between Israeli and Arab individuals – the same creativity and ingenuity of Nofar energy that brings clean light to Israel can be scaled up to bring light and water to all the nations of the world.”