KIBBUTZ KETURA, Israel - A $15 million investment bought Siemens a 40 percent interest in the Arava Power Company, Israel's leading developer of solar power.

"This investment is another consequential step in further strengthening our green and sustainable technologies," Siemens AG President and CEO Peter Löscher said.

"Thanks to its intensive sunshine and steadily growing demand for energy, Israel is an ideal location for further developing our solar business," Löscher said.

Siemens' investment - the largest ever foreign investment in an Israeli solar power company - will allow Arava to build the nation's first commercial solar plant, in the desert region south of the Dead Sea.

Johannes Schmidt, CEO of Siemens Financial Services, said it was "the most comprehensive investment in an Israeli solar power company so far."

"Because of its early entry and wide activities in the field, Arava Power has become the leading solar power company in Israel," Schmidt said.

"Siemens will support the local solar projects with our variety of technologies, professional expertise and funding capabilities," he said.

Israel hopes that renewable sources will provide 10 percent of the nation's energy needs by 2020.