Afcon Holdings is building two wind energy farms. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – An Israeli company is building wind energy farms for the first time in the country in 30 years.

Afcon Holdings, a part of the Shlomo Group, is building two farms that will house 25 wind turbines each in Ramat Sirin and Ma’ale Gilboa in northern Israel. These turbines will produce 21 megawatts of electricity at any moment and will become operational in 2016, reported Yedioth Ahronoth.

Israel’s first wind farm was built 30 years ago in the Golan Heights. The new wind farms are a project that finally received a green light after overcoming several hurdles by Israel’s Electric Authority and the IDF. Geographically, there are also few sites in Israel with strong-enough winds. Some environmental groups also oppose wind farms due to fear that the turbines could harm birds.

The new turbines will measure 29 meters (95.1 feet) each and will produce 850 kilowatts of energy an hour per turbine.