NZO – Advancing Israel’s Renewable Energy Transition
The Net ZerO emissions (NZO) Project is influencing Israel’s energy transition, from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy, through data-driven research and strategic advocacy. NZO mission is to accelerate Israel’s transition from a centralized, fossil-fuel-based energy system to one that is renewable, distributed, resilient, and socially just.
NZO is the renewable energy initiative of the Heschel Center for Sustainability, an Israeli nonprofit organization working to advance a just, resilient, and sustainable society. Established in 2019, NZO brings together a professional team and volunteer experts from the fields of energy, economics, planning, technology, and the environment.
We combine applied research, policy development, engagement with government agencies and collaboration with local authorities and communities. This approach enables us to translate knowledge into practical policy proposals and locally applicable models.
Our Vision
Our vision is a secure, low-carbon Israel powered primarily by the sun—its most abundant natural energy resource.
Israel’s energy transition is not only a climate imperative. It is also an opportunity to strengthen national and local resilience, reduce dependence on centralized infrastructure, lower energy costs, protect open spaces and ecosystems, create new sources of income, and distribute the benefits of energy production more equitably.
Recent regional instability has highlighted the vulnerability of an electricity system that depends heavily on a limited number of large power plants and critical infrastructure sites. A more resilient system requires distributed solar generation, energy storage, flexible electricity demand, and local energy networks that can maintain essential services during disruptions.
From Research to Policy
NZO’s work began with the development of a detailed model of Israel’s future electricity system. Based on hourly electricity data and conservative technological and economic assumptions, the model demonstrated that renewable energy could supply 95% of Israel’s electricity demand by 2050, using existing technologies and at a cost comparable to—or lower than—a business-as-usual pathway. The proposed scenario would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation by more than 90%.
This foundational work showed that a predominantly renewable electricity system in Israel is technically and economically feasible. Since then, NZO has published a growing body of applied research addressing the principal barriers to implementation, including grid congestion, energy storage, demand flexibility, distributed generation, microgrids, rooftop solar, agrivoltaics, regulation, land use, and the role of local authorities.
Through ongoing engagement with policymakers, regulators, professional partners, and municipalities, NZO contributes independent analysis and practical recommendations to Israel’s energy-policy debate.
Our Areas of Work
1
A Distributed and Resilient Energy System
NZO develops policy and regulatory frameworks for local energy networks and microgrids. These systems combine local generation, storage, and energy management, and can continue supplying critical facilities when the national grid is disrupted. Our work examines how microgrids can improve energy security while supporting the integration of additional renewable energy.
2
Smarter Use of Electricity
A renewable energy system must manage not only how electricity is produced, but also when it is consumed. NZO promotes demand flexibility through smart appliances, automated energy management, appropriate electricity pricing, and consumer incentives. Shifting electricity use away from peak-demand hours can reduce grid congestion, lower system costs, and limit the need for additional fossil-fuel power plants.
3
Solar Energy on Buildings
Although rooftop solar is economically viable in Israel, much of its potential remains unrealized. NZO studies the policy, regulatory, financial, and organizational barriers that prevent households, apartment buildings, businesses, and public institutions from producing clean electricity. We develop models that can make rooftop solar more accessible and beneficial to a wider range of communities.
4
Agrivoltaics and Responsible Land Use
Agrivoltaics—the integration of solar-energy with agriculture—offers Israel an important opportunity to expand renewable energy while preserving agricultural and open lands. NZO, in cooperation with GrowingIl, established the Israeli Agrovoltaic Forum, in order to support a “responsible” development of the Agrivoltaic industry in Israel while seeking the balance of energy with food security, farming needs, landscape values, biodiversity, and the economic resilience of rural communities.
To the Agrivoltaics in Israel Current Status 2026 report
5
Local Authorities and Community Resilience
NZO works with local authorities to identify renewable-energy potential and develop locally appropriate implementation strategies. Following the attacks of October 7, 2023 and the ensuing war, part of this work has focused on the recovery and long-term energy resilience of communities in the Western Negev and along Israel’s northern border.Our work recognizes that local authorities are not merely sites for implementing national policy. They are essential partners in demonstrating new models, connecting energy planning with community needs, and ensuring that the benefits of the transition reach diverse populations.
6
Knowledge and Public Accountability
NZO is developing tools to make reliable energy data and policy analysis more accessible to decision-makers, researchers, civil society organizations, and the public. Greater transparency is essential for monitoring Israel’s progress, identifying implementation gaps, and enabling informed participation in shaping the country’s energy future.
A Just Energy Transition
A just transition is a guiding principle across all areas of NZO’s work. The shift to renewable energy should reduce inequality rather than reinforce it. Households and communities across Israel—including lower-income populations, Arab communities, rural areas, and border regions—should be able to benefit from lower energy costs, local economic opportunities, cleaner air, and greater energy security.
By connecting national policy with practical solutions at the local level, NZO works to show that a cleaner energy system can also be more secure, affordable, democratic, and equitable.
