The Eshkol Power Station is a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

supplying

electrical power Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...

to the

Shephelah The Shephelah or Shfela, lit. "lowlands" ( hbo, הַשְּפֵלָה ''hašŠǝfēlā'', also Modern Hebrew: , ''Šǝfēlat Yəhūda'', the "Judaean foothills"), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel str ...

region in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. It is located in north industrial zone of Ashdod near the mouth of the

Lakhish River Lakhish River ( he, נחל לכיש, ''Naḥal Lakhish'') is a river in Israel that flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the city of Ashdod. It is also known as Wadi Kabiba (inland section) and Wadi Sukhrir (Ashdod section) in Arabic. History The b ...

, close to the

port of Ashdod The Port of Ashdod ( he, נמל אשדוד) is one of Israel's three main cargo ports. The port is located in Ashdod, about 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, adjoining the mouth of the Lachish River. Its establishment significantly enhanced the c ...

and the Ashdod Oil Refineries which provided the plant with fuel oil prior to its conversion to use

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

. The power station is also close to the sea since its cooling system uses sea water. Like other significant power stations in Israel, Eshkol Power Station belongs to

Israel Electric Corporation Israel Electric Corporation ( he, חברת החשמל לישראל, abbreviation: IEC) is the largest supplier of electrical power in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The IEC builds, maintains, and operates power generation stations, sub- ...

. It is the third biggest power plant in Israel in terms of production ability, providing 7.3 percent of electricity production by IEC. The power station was named after

Levi Eshkol Levi Eshkol ( he, לֵוִי אֶשְׁכּוֹל ;‎ 25 October 1895 – 26 February 1969), born Levi Yitzhak Shkolnik ( he, לוי יצחק שקולניק, links=no), was an Israeli statesman who served as the third Prime Minister of Israe ...

, former

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

History

In 1953, following an Israeli Government decision, surveyors and designers arrived at the desolate dunes to choose a site to build a new power station in the south of the country. Its builders lived in the regional settlements Rehovot and Gedera. The building of the Eshkol power station was completed in 1958 and included 3 units: 2 units of 50 MW, and one unit of 45 MW. Between 1975 and 1977 a total of four 228 MW fuel oil driven thermal generation units in two blocks came online, making the station Israel’s largest power plant at the time. These were converted in 2004 to dual fuel operation using natural gas. At the same time two combined-cycle natural gas turbines were also added to the site with a total capacity of 770 MW.

Electricity generation

PikiWiki Israel 6927 Eshkol power plant at Ashdod

Originally steam only, today Eshkol is multi unit power station. Eshkol was the first (2004)First stage of gas-operated power station completed.
Israel21c.org. power station in Israel to produce electricity from natural gas. * Natural Gas Consumption - 223 tonnes per hour. * Fuel Oil Consumption - 36 tonnes per hour. * Cooling Water consumption - 186 tonnes per hour. Due to their age and low efficiency, the IEC intends to decommission the four thermal units at the site by 2019. There is also sea water desalination plant based on steam turbine. One of the small private electricity producers is also located in Ashdod. It is operated under IEC supervision.

References

{{Energy in Israel Natural gas-fired power stations in Israel Ashdod Buildings and structures in Ashdod Commemoration of Levi Eshkol