Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies in (town) Planning Law Israel
First question: ‘Is there legislation in your country concerning the use of renewable energies or energy efficiency? Can municipalities create their own (or higher) regulations?’
Background conditions
Israel is a small country which encompasses characteristics of a developed economy on the one hand (approximately 30th in its GDP per capita) and of a developing country on the other (he highest natural growth rate among the developed economies). Israel’s emerging policies regarding energy may therefore harbor lessons for a range of other countries that do not (yet) belong to the richest group of nations.
The country’s policies about renewable energy are relatively new. There is no national legislation that mandates renewable energy production, but there is government policy that, if property implemented, will mandate all government ministries to work together to achieve the goal. In 2003 the national government adopted an overall national policy about sustainability, with a distinct energy policy. The production share for renewable sources is currently less than 1% but the target is for 10% by 2020 and 20% by 2030. Given the country’s year-round sun on the one hand and relatively scarce open areas suitable for wind farms, the major part of renewable energy will come from solar energy (about 70%), 25% from wind power and 5% from biomass.
There are several factors – some unique to Israel – that explain the relative low and delayed target: First, as in most developing countries, until a society becomes more affluence, public policy is oriented to what were conceived to be more basic needs. There are many NGO’s active in this area – though less than in many other advanced economies, due to the special Middle East security issues that capture much public attention. While public opinion and therefore public policy has in recent years been showing a growing awareness of environmental issues, water scarcity, the need to conserve water, protect the aquifer and encourage the construction of desalination plants has drawn more attention than the energy issue. Second, Israel’s geographic and security context has created an ‘energy island’”. Unlike Europe and North America, Israeli’s electric network is not linked with the grid of neighboring countries, so that Israel must be totally self sufficient and must be able to accommodate even the infrequent peak periods. Third, unlike other advanced economy countries, Israel has a strong positive natural growth rate alongside a gradual rise in the standard of living. These trends mean that the demand for electricity – and thus for new electric-production facilities – is constantly growing. Every few years there is an ‘energy crisis’ threat. These combined factors have meant that the Electricity Corporation has been able to wield its influence to go for the ‘sure and tested’ power plants. Third, there are no nuclear power plants and none are on the agenda. Fourth, while sunlight is ample, Israel is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Both solar energy and wind power require large tracts of open space. These are not easy to find and often compete with other environmental considerations, especially opens space and biodiversity preservation.
National policies and legislation (except planning law – see Question 2)
There is no mandatory national legislation on energy efficiently, but there are indirect policies, mostly based in planning and building law (see below).
In 2008, the national government adopted a national incentives policy for private solar energy production to be sold back to the national grid. The incentives are based on a high price offered currently, which is to decline with time. Roof space may be used on either public facilities (schools, municipal buildings) or private buildings (commercial, industrial or residential), large or small. During less than one year, a growing number of both public and private entities have been joining the scheme. If the trend grows, it is expected to make the renewable energy goals attainable. Local planning authorizes faced with this new trend are now discovering the urgent need to draw up urban design guidelines for the new roof usage.
In 2005 the Israel Standards Institute adopted a Green Buildings Code.1 It is based largely on the American LEED code, but draws also on EU, German and UK codes. It is a comprehensive code that includes a major passive energy and energy conservation component. In addition to the usual energy conservation elements, the code also sets conditions for concealing open-air laundry drying zones, including in apartment buildings. The code may be applied either to new or refurbished residential or office buildings. Unlike the EU Energy Conservation Certificate approach, the adoption of the Israeli code is elective, like its US counterpart (see the discussion of planning law below). Developers or public entities can obtain a Green Building Label at two levels of achievement. The first building to receive this code in 2007 was a major bank building in Tel Aviv.
In 2009, the national government began incorporating the code in tenders for national infrastructure PPP projects (such as desalination plants). Compliance with the code (in various degrees beyond the minimum) grants the bidder additional points in the tender. National government is unlikely to support legislation of the Code as a compulsory element for all private construction because the cost of housing is a major political issue.
Municipalities in Israel have relatively weak legal powers and independent financial resources than their counterparts in West European countries (except for the UK). None have yet taken any initiative to create their own energy code or incentives beyond the regulatory instrument available through planning law, discussed next.
Second Question Are there special regulations for renewable energies or energy efficiency in planning law? Has the legislation mentioned in question 1 influence on the planning law? E.g. by setting requirements concerning the use of renewable energy for the energy supply or a standard for energy efficiency of building areas.
National statutory planning is a major legal tool for planning and implementing renewable energy production and conservation on the national level. Although there is no special clause in the planning law that requires energy efficiency, this policy has been indirectly incorporated by means of legally-binding national spatial plans. Full compliance with these plans is mandatory on all local plans and building permits (but older plans usually remain in force). The 1965 Israel Planning and Building Law (as amended many times) are used for energy conversation in several ways: Solar heating in residential buildings, production of renewable energy, and regulation of new construction (potentially retrofitting .as well).
Solar heating of water in residential buildings
Since the 1960’s, Israel was a pioneer in the use of solar energy for household water heating. By means of the Planning and Balding Law and the National Standards Institute, solar heating is mandatory in all residential construction, including apartment buildings. However, the energy saving benefit, the solar facilities on the roofs because an eyesore. The code was changed to require one central energy absorbing facility for each building, and the water containers were moved down to the balconies of the individual apartments (see the pictures). However, Israel did not continue to pursue additional solar energy policy until very recently.
Siting and development of renewable energy facilities
In recent years national planning policy promotes the establishment of wind and especially solar energy plants. Nationally-owned land is allocated for this purpose. This provides an indirect subsidy, but is also a factual necessity. The land ownership pattern in Israel is such, that there aren’t enough inbuilt private land tracts large enough to enable the construction of a solar energy plant on private land. (Wind farm developers of small size could perhaps find some private land).
The siting of solar energy plans as well as wind-farm areas of significant size are a matter for national-level stauttoyr plans and decisions. Both types of renewable energy sites inevitably create a conflict with other environmental considerations. Two major wind farms were incorporated in national statutory plans a few years ago, after a long battle with opposing environmental movements. They objected on two grounds: the interference with the bird-migration routes (Israel hosts the major migration routes from Europe to the Southern Hemisphere) and the infringement of aesthetic qualities of the scarce open spaces in the hilly regions where the wind turbines were to be sited. Sites for solar plants were difficult to find even in Israel’s southern desert area due to conflicts with other land uses and environmental considerations (operative peace in the Middle East could in the future lead to contracts with Egypt for siting of solar plants in the sparsely populated Sinai desert) . After much debate, currently there are tenders for the construction and operation of two large solar energy sites in the southern part of the country which is mostly desert areas (with many tracts declared as environmentally sensitive areas).
Energy conservation policy and statutory regulatory planning
A major national plan approved in 2005 contains a written policy about sustainable development. Such policy is also derived from the general government decision of 2003 mentioned above. Direct implementation through planning regulation is currently only in its infancy. The district planning commissions (that oversee local planning decisions and are to implement national policy) have recently issued guidelines to local planning bodies. These guidelines contain a major energy component. The guidelines are advisory, but since district commissions have the authority to decline approval of most local planning initiatives, one can expect that this policy will be gradually implemented through case by case review. The pace of implementation through this route is, however, expected to be slow because planning bodies area already criticized for over regulation and for causing major delays (and thus raising housing costs – a very sensitive topic).
Compact city policy and energy conservation
Much more effective is the national statutory planning2 policy on compact city development. This has a major indirect influence on promoting energy efficiency through innovative and strict rules. In the Israeli context, the major motivation is not energy conservation but rather efficient use of scarce land resources in order to conserve some open spaces. Efficient use of public transportation is a second goal. Both goals of course also mean energy conservation. Since 2005 (and in some parts of the country since the latter 1990s), there are nation-wide planning rules that mandate minimal density level not just the traditional maximum level. In central cities, this can mean at least 140 housing units per net hectare. It is graded lower in towns further away from the central district. No new ex-urban areas are to be established, unless they are contiguous with built up areas and meet these density requirements. These national policies are legally binding on all local planning decisions, unless they implement plans approved before 2005.
Implementation of the Green Building Code through planning regulations
Another effective, though small-scale route is the implementation of the Israeli Green Building Code through ad hoc municipal initiatives. Several local governments in high-demand areas (where buyers of housing units can absorb some extra costs and where profits of developer are assured) have began to negotiate with developers over ‘green building’ certification for a few pace-setting new housing and office projects. The legal basis for this is the same as any other development agreement: it relies on the fact that most new development requires an amendment of the existing statutory plan or at least, the granting of a variance. Thus the developers are ‘in the hands of’ the local planning authorities. Although the number of municipal initiatives of this type is still small, experience with similar new policies on other environmental topics (such as leaving water retention areas in built up areas) has proven that once the topic catches on after a few successful models, the pace will accelerate.
As for requirements for inclusion of solar energy production on buildings – at the moment I don’t know of any general planning-based requirements on this topic. For the foreseeable future it will continue to rely on the national incentives discussed under Question 1.
Third Question Does legislation (Questions 1+2) only affect the planning for new buildings or does it also affect existing buildings? If yes, describe how.
Retrofitting of buildings as a general policy is not likely to be implementable in the foreseeable future. There are many other priorities for the national and local budgets. However, much urban regeneration is currently in process in Israel through various policy means. These grant additional development rights for either demolition and reconstruction at higher densities, or construction of additional floors in exchange for upgrading the existing building. The densification process on its own is an energy conserving action. As for direct energy conservation or production of renewable energy, the instruments discussed in question 2 will likely be gradually applied to new and refurbished buildings, but on a gradual basis.
Rachelle Alterman
1 Israel Standard (SI) 5281: Buildings with reduced environmental impact (“Green buildings”). On energy topics, the code includes requirements relating to the maximum proportion of windows relative to the total wall area, the maximum thermal conductivity (U-value) of different wall sections, rates of night ventilation, and the properties of external wall surfaces. Window sizes have been prescribed according to orientation and climatic regions. Theoretically the standard consists of two compliance options: a prescriptive path in which specific requirements for energy related elements should be followed, and a performance method which measures the energy consumption in the apartment against a reference apartment using a simulation tool. However, the latter has not yet been finalized.
2 All laws and policies discussed here refer to Israel in its international borders and not to the occupied West Bank.