Sonol and Partners Form Consortium for 4B-Shekel Power Plant Project
Sonol, Afcon, and Pentelight have signed an MOU to build a 900MW natural gas power plant and a 200MW data center in Israel, with an estimated 4 billion shekels investment in the energy facility.
Sonol Group, through Sonol Israel and Sonol Real Estate, alongside Afcon Holdings and Pentelight Energy from the Quadro National Infrastructure group, have signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership. The consortium aims to construct and operate a 900-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant, alongside a planned data center with a capacity of up to 200 megawatts and energy storage facilities.
The investment in the power plant alone is estimated at approximately 4 billion shekels, excluding the costs for the data center and storage facilities. This unique collaboration combines electricity generation infrastructure, data centers, and storage systems in a single complex, aligning with the preferred model of the Electricity Authority and Noga, which encourages locating data centers near power generation sources.
Under the agreement, the partners will establish a joint venture to spearhead the project, with Sonol Israel holding a 45% stake, while Afcon and Pentelight will each hold 27.5%. The project is slated to be built on a 48-dunam plot owned by Sonol Real Estate, which will lease the land to the joint venture for up to 25 years.
Strategic Expansion and Industry Leadership
The initiative is currently in its initial development phase and remains subject to required regulatory and planning approvals. Sonol Real Estate will be entitled to milestone-based grants tied to project progress. For Sonol, this venture marks a major strategic milestone in cementing its position as a leading energy group in Israel, expanding beyond renewable energy, hydrogen fueling, and solar storage into power plant initiation.
For Afcon, a veteran leader in engineering and infrastructure, the project reinforces its subsidiary Afcon Renewable Energy's role as a power plant developer. Pentelight Energy brings proven expertise from its founders, who previously steered the IPM Be'er Tuvia power plant to commercial operation. Shaul Ben-Tovim from the BNT firm brokered the transaction.
