Dalia Energy Companies said Friday it signed a financing agreement to build a new advanced power plant at the Eshkol site, in one of Israel’s largest energy infrastructure projects in recent years.
The Eshkol Avshal project is named in memory of Avshalom Haran, one of Dalia’s founders and a pioneer of Israel’s private energy market, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Be’eri.
Dalia purchased the Eshkol site from the Israel Electric Corp. in June 2024. As part of the sale, the company received the right to build a new generation unit at the site under a special Electricity Authority regulation. The Avshal station will be entitled to an availability tariff of about 5.7 agorot per kilowatt-hour over a 20-year license period, reflecting, among other things, the value Dalia paid for the construction rights.
Bank Hapoalim, serving as senior debt arranger and sole financier at this stage, will provide a financing package estimated at about NIS 5.7 billion. The package includes a long-term facility of about NIS 5 billion for approximately 19.5 years, as well as bridge facilities and guarantees totaling about NIS 700 million.
The first drawdown will be used to repay about NIS 650 million in bridge loans used to buy turbines from Siemens and secure their supply, as well as about NIS 900 million in loans provided during the purchase of the Eshkol site from the Israel Electric Corp. for the construction rights.
The Avshal power plant will include a Siemens H-Class turbine, considered among the world’s most advanced technologies for energy and environmental efficiency, and is expected to generate about 850 megawatts. Dalia has signed supply and maintenance agreements with Siemens, and commercial operation is expected to begin in July 2029.
Dalia Group has invested about NIS 1.6 billion in the project to date. The station’s location near the sea will allow it to use a seawater-based cooling system, which the company said is more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Shmulik Arbel, head of Bank Hapoalim’s corporate division, said the bank was proud to lead the financing for the power plant, calling it “a cornerstone in strengthening energy security and the independence of Israel’s electricity market.”
“The current project, based on the world’s most advanced and efficient H-Class technology, joins the strategic partnership with Dalia Energy Companies that began with the purchase of the Eshkol site from the Israel Electric Corp.,” Arbel said.
He said Haran “was a man of vision and action who dedicated his life to building a strong and advanced energy market,” adding that “there is no more appropriate answer to those who sought to destroy us than the establishment of a power plant that will spread light and energy to millions of homes in Israel and ensure our energy future.”
Oved Deby, CEO of Dalia Energy Companies, thanked Bank Hapoalim for what he called “a continued strong expression of trust” in Dalia, its management and its business plans.
Deby said Dalia, one of the pioneers of competition in Israel’s electricity market, is working to quickly advance two major power plants: Eshkol Avshal and Dalia 2.
“The establishment of the Eshkol Avshal power plant — one of the largest, newest and most efficient plants expected to be built in the Israeli market in the coming years — is another layer in turning Dalia into a significant electricity producer,” Deby said.
He said the plant would help meet Israel’s growing energy needs while expanding competition in the electricity market.
Dalia also plans to build a large data center complex at the Eshkol site for international artificial intelligence companies. Deby said the site’s proximity to the power plant and the sea, and its ability to use seawater for cooling, create the potential for an energy-efficient and environmentally friendlier server farm.
The company is also advancing plans for a subsea cable landing station at Eshkol, which could directly connect the server farm to international communications infrastructure linking Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Dalia said it has worked since its founding to anticipate Israel’s electricity needs and expand generation capacity. At the Eshkol and Tzafit sites, the group will operate a fleet of turbines it says are among the most efficient in Israel, located near electricity and gas transmission networks to support efficient power generation and delivery to consumption areas.