Jaffa Port gets Israel’s first wave energy plant

The power plant uses pioneering technology that connects ‘floaters’ which rise and fall with the waves to existing marine structures such as breakwaters and piers, powering a motor and generator onshore.

By JNS

Israel’s first wave energy power plant is being inaugurated on Thursday at Jaffa Port, in a push for renewable energy.

The city-sponsored pilot project will generate electricity from sea waves, reinforcing Tel Aviv’s status as a global innovation leader.

For the first time, electricity generated from sea waves will power Israel’s national grid—a historic milestone in the country’s march toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing sustainable energy, the city said.

The power plant has been recognized for its use of pioneering technology that connects “floaters” which rise and fall with the waves to existing marine structures such as breakwaters and piers, powering a motor and generator onshore.

“Floaters” at the Jaffa Port wave energy pilot installation. Credit: Eco Wave Power.

The project was jointly developed by Eco Wave Power Ltd.—a Swedish company founded in Tel Aviv in 2011—and the Herzliya-based EDF Renewables Israel energy company, with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and the municipal development company Atarim.

Eco Wave Power is planning similar projects in the Port of Los Angeles with Shell and in Porto, Portugal, where its first commercial station will be built.

The Tel Aviv Municipality said that supporting innovative technologies to reduce emissions is a key part of the city’s environmental and sustainability initiatives.