KIBBUTZ KVUTZAT YAVNE, Israel (26 April, 2009) - An alternative-energy solar farm that far exceeds current global industry standards, was unveiled in Kibbutz Kvutzat Yavne, Israel, on Sunday, 26 April, 2009.

The farm, developed by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be'er Sheva in cooperation with the ZenithSolar company, is based on Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) systems that harvest more than 70 percent of incoming solar energy, compared to the industry norm of just 10 to 40 percent.

Israeli President Shimon Peres presided over the opening of the landmark facility (pictured in accompanying images).

The technology was developed by Prof. David Faiman, Chairman of the Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics at the university's Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.

It will generate electricity and thermal energy (hot water) for the kibbutz and ultimately for other Israeli neighborhoods and communities.

The solar farm provides a model that can be replicated around the world, according to the university. ZenithSolar plans to have models of the solar units available for wider distribution by the end of 2009.

"The potential for this technology to provide low-cost, accessible energy for customers around the world is enormous. Our system is simple enough to be applicable in almost any situation, whether it is industrial, commercial, residential or related to eco-tourism," Roy Segev, founder and CEO of ZenithSolar, said. "There is currently no other comparable technology available in the world."

"By concentrating solar energy to a level 1,000 times more intense than natural sunlight and taking advantage of the higher efficiencies at which solar cells operate under these conditions, only minute amounts of expensive photovoltaic material are necessary to produce large amounts of power," Faiman said.

(Mati Milstein is a freelance photographer and journalist based in Tel Aviv. A former chief desk editor at Haaretz.com, the website of Israel's leading daily newspaper, his work has appeared in National Geographic News, Archaeology magazine and other media outlets in Israel and abroad. He may be found on the Web at www.matimilstein.com)