page_title: Israel
section_title: Energy
hierarchical_section_title: Israel / Economy / Energy
caption_attribution_description: English: A view from above of the solar field of Kibbutz Elifaz located in southern Israel. עברית: שדה סולארי אליפז. עקרון הפעולה הפוטו-וולטאי. התא הפוטו-וולטאי בנוי משתי שכבות סיליקון שבכל אחת עקבות של יסוד נוסף אחר.
context_page_description: The State of Israel is a country in southwestern Asia on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel became an independent country in 1948. Israel is the only Jewish country, and Jews all over the world think of Israel as their spiritual home. Israel's population was 8.1 million people in 2013 and 6.04 million are Jewish. Almost all the other citizens of Israel are Arab and include Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Samaritans. Israel's largest city is Jerusalem. Israel's capital city is Jerusalem. Most countries keep embassies in Tel Aviv.
  Israel is a small country, but it has mountains, deserts, shores, valleys and plains. The climate is hot and rainless in the summers with high humidity in the coastal plain and lower elevations, and cool and rainy in the winters, rarely going below freezing temperatures.
  Israel has few natural resources and imports more goods than it exports. It has a relatively high standard of living and life expectancy. Almost all of its people can read and write.
  According to the Democratic Index, Israel is the only democratic republic in the Middle East.
context_section_description: Israel has few energy sources.  It has no coal deposits or hydroelectric power resources, and only small amounts of crude oil and natural gas. As a result, Israel depends on imported crude oil for gasoline and diesel for transportation, and coal producing electricity for its energy needs.
  Solar energy – energy from the sun – is used widely to heat water for houses. Israel is developing other ways to use solar energy to power houses and factories.
  In 2008, Israel began investing in building electric cars and the stations to charge them. There may also be large natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea that Israel could develop.
caption: Solar field in Kibbutz Elifaz, Israel.
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