The Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center at Midreshet Ben-Gurion

Midreshet Ben-Gurion

Midreshet Ben-Gurion , also known as Midreshet Sde Boker, is a communal settlement in southern Israel. Located near Sde Boker in the Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. In 2010 it had a population of 1,200....

 is the national alternative energy

Alternative energy

Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....

 research institute of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. It was established in 1987 by the Ministry of National Infrastructures to study promising alternative and clean

Clean technology

Clean technology includes recycling, renewable energy , information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, Greywater, and many other appliances that are now more energy efficient. It is a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environmental...

 energy technologies, particularly those involving solar power

Solar power

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...

. Since July 1991 the Center has been operated by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev   is a university in Beersheba, Israel, established in 1969. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has a current enrollment of 17,400 students, and is one of Israel's fastest growing universities....

's Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research. Its director is David Faiman

David Faiman

David Faiman is an Israeli engineer and physicist. He is a world expert on solar power. He is the director of the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center and Chairman of the Department of Solar Energy & Environmental Physics at Ben-Gurion University's Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert...

.

In 2007 it was announced that the Center was collaborating with Zenith Solar

Zenith Solar

Zenith Solar is an Israeli solar energy company based in Ness Ziona. It was founded in 2006 by Roy Segev and Bob Whelen, who is also its chief executive....

to create a home system of solar cells based on technological research conducted under Faiman.