Israel OK's solar energy tariffs

TEL AVIV, Israel, June 5 (UPI) -- Israel has expanded its support for solar energy.

The Public Utilities Authority recently announced that, starting in July, any person who installs a photovoltaic solar system on his or her property can sell the electricity produced to the national power grid, Globes reported.

Israel has joined a list of countries including Germany, the United States, Japan, Italy and Spain that have been offering their citizens financial incentives to produce their own clean electricity for several years.

Private producers will be able to install photovoltaic solar systems with a production capacity of up to 15 kilowatts. It takes an estimated seven to 10 years to see a return on capital investments to install a system.

Other consumers can install systems with a production capacity of up to 50 kilowatts, although no tariff has yet been set for them.

The Utilities Authority also decided that the tariff will be paid to consumers for total production of up to 50 kilowatts, or production over a seven-year period, whichever comes first.