Israel Electricity Authority to Decide on Server Farm Policy
Translated & summarized from Globes by baba
Israel's Electricity Authority will decide on October 18th whether to allow new server farms, a policy halted in July. The decision will permit farms up to 200 megawatts each, requiring significant financial guarantees. Disagreements remain on the total capacity to be built by 2035. Other issues like peripheral location and energy efficiency will be addressed later.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israel's Electricity Authority will decide on October 18th on new server farm policy.
- New server farms will be limited to 200 megawatts each.
- Companies must provide large financial guarantees for server farm construction.
- There are significant disagreements on the total server farm capacity by 2035.
- Server farms are crucial for AI but are also major electricity consumers.
Israel's Electricity Authority is set to make a crucial decision on Sunday, October 18th, regarding the establishment of new server farms, a policy that has been on hold since July. The authority's plenum, comprising representatives from the Electricity Authority, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Energy, will convene to discuss proposed regulations. Disagreements persist among plenum members regarding the scale of server farm development by 2035, with proposals ranging from a few hundred megawatts to 2,300 megawatts. Currently, companies may be permitted to build server farms up to 200 megawatts each, requiring substantial guarantees of hundreds of millions of shekels to ensure timely completion. Server farms are considered vital for advancing the artificial intelligence revolution and are viewed as strategic assets that should be located in Israel. However, they are also massive electricity consumers, demanding reliable, 24/7 power. A surge in connection requests from server farms, which at its peak represented three times Israel's current total electricity consumption, prompted the Electricity Authority to halt new applications until clear rules were established. While the upcoming decision is expected to allow server farms of up to 200 megawatts with a guarantee of 2 million shekels per megawatt, other considerations such as locating farms in the periphery and energy efficiency requirements will be deferred to the next government. Similarly, incentives for companies providing their own electricity generation capacity will not be addressed at this stage, making the upcoming decision only partial. The final ruling is anticipated on Sunday evening.
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