page_title: Ashalim Power Station
section_title: Reasons for building the power station
hierarchical_section_title: Ashalim Power Station / Reasons for building the power station
caption_attribution_description: עברית: מגדל השמש בתחנת ברייטסורס אשלים בעת פעולה English: Ashalim power station is a solar power station in the Negev desert near the kibbutz of Ashalim,
context_page_description: The Ashalim power station is a solar power station in the Negev desert near the kibbutz of Ashalim, south of the district city of Be'er Sheva) in Israel. It is a joint venture between Brightsource and Alstom. The station was the tallest solar power tower in the world at a height of 260 meters including the boiler but was recently surpassed by the 262 meter tall solar power tower at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
  The station has an installed capacity of 121 megawatts, concentrating 50,600 computer-controlled heliostats enough to power 120000 homes. Electricity production commenced in September 2019, producing 320 GWhr of energy per year. The solar tower uses molten salt to allow the plant to operate for up to 4.5 hours after sunset.
  When further phases of the project are complete, the station will combine 3 kinds of energy: solar thermal energy, photovoltaic energy, and natural gas. A 30MW PV plant is planned, and a second CSP plant will also be built.
context_section_description: According to a press release of the National Infrastructure Minister of Israel, the establishment has several motivations:
  Economic motivation: reducing imports thus balancing the trade and releasing foreign currency.
  Political motivation: reducing strategic dependence on foreign energy sources.
  Environmental motivation: reducing contamination levels.
  Scientific motivation: pushing forward local technology and science, adapting new technologies from abroad.
caption: winter 2018
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 7D Mark II", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 7.5 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2018:12:01 18:26:48", "Image Artist": "*_Zigi_*", "Image ExifOffset": "244", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "894", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6441", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/2500", "EXIF FNumber": "16", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:11:30 14:10:10", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:11:30 14:10:10", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "352741/31250", "EXIF ApertureValue": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "400", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "15", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "15", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "79937569/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "79937569/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "028020001625", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[400, 400, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF400mm f/5.6L USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000000000"}