The "Smart" and Innovative Ma'alot-Tarshiha: An Energy Independent City

Our city of "Ma'alot-Tarshiha" is a beautiful joint Jewish and Arab community of 27,000 people in northern Israel, located in the Western Galilee, about 600 meters (1,969 feet) above sea level. Our Municipality has become energy independent by the introduction of energy efficiency measures that have created economic benefits to the city budget.

In 2013, the Municipality of Ma’alot announced to the world that it was instigating a new project, called “Going into the Light,” administered by the Israeli start-up Juganu Systems. where over 13,000 new and retrofit luminaries were installed replacing all of the old street lights.  By the implementation of this initial step Ma’alot we have not only reduced our “Carbon Footprint "but we have induced other towns and villages in our area to join us. Ma'alot now enjoys brighter lighting while saving about $90,000 US each year in electricity operating costs, capital improvement and maintenance costs on all lighting elements. According to independent testing performed by the IEC (Israel Electrical Corporation), "Ma’alot reduced energy consumption by 75% while delivering even more light throughout the city’s streets and buildings."

At the time of the introduction of the program it was announced that some of savings derived from the LED lighting program would be reinvested into the creation of a "Innovative" research team that would be used to analyze city wide data and recommend additional programs to implement and integrate. The purpose of the Innovative Team would be to research means to increase energy efficiency, learn how to better manage waste and to improve the infrastructure and water programs under the auspices of the Park Koren Industrial Management in Ma'alot. These steps are being done to complete the change for a better and “Smarter” Ma’alot as an energy independent city.

Economical Savings and Energy Independent

In our research, we have seen on the Internet how other cities throughout the world have gained economical and energy savings through leasing underutilized public spaces for photo-voltaic (PV) Solar Roof systems to produce renewable sources of electricity.

In Ma’alot we have leased several Municipal buildings; mainly the city's schools and our Community Center to solar companies for solar energy collection. By the installation of solar energy collection roofs, the municipality has realized economical and energy savings gained from leasing the underutilized public spaces for community solar farms. Furthermore, we have recently instigated a program to lease underutilized parking areas to Solar Energy companies. This will benefit the community not only by producing clean energy by harnessing the power of the sun.

We did research into the posibility of installing solar canopies over parking areas which would contribute to the welfare of the residents. We found that the installation of solar collection units over parking areas will provide shaded areas from the sun and protection from inclement winter weather for the residents and their vehicles.

Parking in a covered facility contributes substantially to increased vehicle fuel efficiency, because it saves; having to cool cars in the summer and heating cars in the winter during inclement weather.

We have also taken strides in further reducing our “Carbon Footprint” and increase economic savings and energy reduction to the Municipality by instigating a “cogeneration program” for the reduction in city bio-mass in our waste management. With a cogeneration furnace, the municipality can improve the efficiency in waste reduction, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, promote economic growth, and maintain a robust energy infrastructure.

It is said that the transforming into a smart city is a long marathon, not a sprint. Without a well-structured strategic plan, you can’t prioritize nor make informed decisions nor can you track milestones or measure success.

Israeli accelerators are full of ‘Smart’ solutions which are being devised and developed in - healthcare, water management, energy supply and transport, for example. More and more of these Israeli designed technologies (apps) are becoming part of everyday life, and increasingly we live in an (IOT) Internet of Things network society, where (almost) everything is connected to (almost) everyone.

Clean and Efficient living

Smart Cities use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance quality, performance and interactivity of urban services, to reduce costs and resource consumption and to improve contact between citizens and government.

Citizen Participation

Cities need to be prepared for future developments to improve the quality of life. They can achieve this by sharing civic responsibility with residents through citizen engagement activities such as; kitchen table discussions at private homes, online discussion forums and workshops at community centers to communicate and engage citizens in a dialog about city projects. Through IOT apps, that allow for the ready exchange of data, cities can improve the efficiency of services and meet residents’ needs as well as unleash innovation and efficiency as well as new entrepreneurial opportunities.

Conclusion: An Energy Independent City

As we stated in this document we wish to implement "Smart City" solutions, with the objective transforming our municipality into a low CO₂, resource-efficient antifragile city. The installation of the LED lights on our streets and in our municipal buildings, was the initial step in our goal to becoming an energy independent city. Since this initial step we have shared our knowledge and experience with other municipalities.

From our experience, we have found that Cities can and need to substantially increase their efficiency in their daily operations and to manage their energy use through the use of ecologically friendly and carbon free methods to produce energy so that they can become true energy independent cities.