Dalia Energy Nears Financial Close for 850MW Ashkelon Power Plant Project
Dalia Energy is approaching financial closure for its Ashkelon power plant project, following the receipt of a building permit for the new production unit at the Ashkelon site. The company reported to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that financiers have confirmed the fulfillment of conditions required to proceed with funding. The 850-megawatt plant is expected to begin commercial operations in July 2029.
The next step involves obtaining approval from the Electricity Authority for financial closure and tariff confirmation, a process Dalia has already initiated. The project's senior debt amounts to approximately 5.2 billion shekels, with Bank Hapoalim acting as the lead arranger. Dalia acquired the Ashkelon site from the Israel Electric Corporation about two years ago as part of the electricity market reform to increase competition. The acquisition deal, valued at around 9 billion shekels, included rights to build a new production unit on the site.
In May, Dalia signed a financing package with Bank Hapoalim totaling about 5.7 billion shekels, including 5 billion shekels in long-term debt and 700 million shekels in bridging loans and guarantees. Initial funds were used to repay bridging loans for turbine purchases from Siemens and other loans related to the site acquisition. The new plant will use Siemens H-Class gas turbine technology and is planned to be one of Israel's largest production units. Dalia has already ordered key systems from Siemens before finalizing the financing agreement.
The project will benefit from a dedicated availability tariff over a 20-year license period, currently under review by the Electricity Authority. The expected tariff is about 5.5 agorot per kilowatt-hour, a payment made to producers for unit availability regardless of actual electricity supply. Ashkelon is one of two major power projects Dalia is advancing; the other, Dalia 2 at the Tzafit site, will have a similar capacity and an estimated investment of 4 to 5 billion shekels but a significantly lower availability tariff of 3.31 agorot per kilowatt-hour over 25 years.
