Why Lebanon is experiencing a surprising solar power boom

Tens of thousands of Lebanese are turning to the solar energy generate electricity reliable there commendable in a country with more than 300 sunny days and where the state in crisis provides only one or two hours of electricity per day.

The transition to solar energy has been accelerated by the The economic collapse suffered by the Middle Eastern country since 2019 and which has made the lebanese pound more than 98% of its value against the US dollar.

The result of the devaluation is that the government has serious difficulty paying for the imported fuel used to power the country’s two main power stations. the state Electricity of Lebanon (EDL), for example, has a capacity of 1,800 megawatts, but currently only supplies between 200 and 250 megawatts. The supply has been reduced to one or two hours of electricity per day.

Faced with this situation, the last two years have appeared solar panels across the country, from the rooftops of rural homes to urban apartments, and from the rooftops of family businesses to the buildings of national and multinational organizations, according to a report by the magazine TIME which explains the energy transformation that the country is experiencing.

Lebanon went from not producing solar energy in 2010 to having 90 megawatts of solar capacity in 2020. But the biggest increase occurred when other 100 megawatts In 2021 there 500 megawatts in 2022according Pierre Khourydirector of the Lebanese Governmental Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), quoted by TIME. A not insignificant quantity if we consider that before the crisis, the country needed 2,000 to 3,000 megawatts.

The objective of promoting renewable energies in Lebanon was favored by the fact that the Solar power is now the most affordable way to generate electricity In the whole world. The cost has fallen by more than 90% over the past decade, thanks to rapid technological improvements and excess production of solar panels.

In Lebanon, the solar sector exploded from about 150 registered companies in 2020 for over 800 today, according to Khoury. These companies work on all kinds of projects, from small home systems — costing between $2,000 and $3,500 — to projects with hundreds of panels or more.

TIME cite the example of the family Mazloumwho installed 18 solar panels on their homes, saving the whole family between $3,000 and $4,000 a year in electricity and generator bills, against an investment of $10,000.

“The main thing is reliability,” he said. TIME Elias, one of the family members. “In the past two years we have had virtually no power outages…Even in the very difficult times we were still going through.”

The American magazine also cites the case of the campus of the Wisdom University. Some 460 solar panels have been installed there to cover the needs of the 3,500 students at the educational centre. “We’re talking about 300 kilowatts peak, on a sunny day like this,” says the engineer in charge of the installation. The energy generated can be used to power everything, including “lights, coolers, air conditioners, fridges, refrigerators, heaters”. He the return on investment is less than one yearassured another of the project managers.

However, the inability of the state power company to provide electricity, coupled with a lack of large-scale solar farms and green infrastructure, means Lebanon remains heavily dependent on highly polluting diesel generators.

“The reduced amount of CO2 through the use of solar panels also makes diesel generators run longer,” he said. Marc Ayoub, energy expert at the American University of Beirut. For this reason, according to this expert, the real ecological solution must come “at the community level: villages, municipalities, regions. That’s where you start to have a big environmental impact.”

But these kinds of projects require a level of investment that the cash-strapped Lebanese government cannot afford.

Yet the conclusion that many in Lebanon have come to is to turn to solar power. “People are seeing the real benefits,” he said. Elias Mazloum. “After all, we are going green without realizing it.”

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