Israel has officially launched its first wave energy power plant.

The pilot project at Jaffa Port, at the southern end of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa (Yafo) municipality, uses floating platforms with hydraulic pumps to convert the up-and-down motion of ocean waves into electricity.

Tel Aviv-based Eco Wave Power (EWP) developed the technology behind the plant, which has 10 floaters, each producing enough electricity to power 10 homes.

The system was installed in September 2023 as a joint venture with EDF Renewables Israel, a subsidiary of the French energy giant EDF, and is already connected to Israel’s national electric grid.

The installation was partly funded by Israel’s Ministry of Energy, which recognizes it as a “pioneering technology.”

The launch was held on December 5, only after optimal performance was reached through additional modifications and calibrations over the past year.

Tel Aviv-Yafo Mayor Ron Huldai described the EWP installation as “a historic milestone in the country’s renewable energy progress.”

The power plant is located at the port’s Atarim Blue Economy Innovation Hub. Atarim is the municipal company that manages the Tel-Aviv-Yafo coastline between Herzliya and Bat Yam.

The Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality said the launch marked “a significant step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing sustainable energy, reinforcing Tel Aviv’s status as a global innovation leader.”

Wave energy provides a more reliable and consistent power source than solar or wind, simply because the sea is in constant motion, while the sun sets and the wind drops.

But it has lagged behind other renewables, in part due to concerns over possible effects on marine ecosystems.

The 100kW-capacity wave power plant at Jaffa Port converts wave motion into pressurized fluid, which drives turbines to generate clean electricity for coastal communities.

EWP, a NASDAQ-listed company that holds 18 patents for innovative wave-energy technologies, connects floaters to breakwaters, jetties, piers and other existing marine structures.

Smart controls lift the floaters out of the water during storms to prevent damage and automatically lower them again when the storm has subsided.

This is EWP’s second wave power plant. The first was installed in Gibraltar in 2016, and just last month the company received the go-ahead for one at the Port of Los Angeles. Its first commercial station will be built in Porto, Portugal.

The Jaffa Port project is led by Inna Braverman, CEO at EWP and a graduate of the Women for Climate program that empowers women to lead environmental and sustainability projects addressing urban climate challenges.

The Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, through its Environmental and Sustainability Authority, is a member of C40, an international network of cities committed to reducing the effects of the climate crisis and greenhouse gas emissions.