Beirut turns to renewables to ease energy crisis

A far-reaching electricity sector reform plan puts solar and wind at the heart of the government’s energy strategy

Lebanon’s Council of Ministers awarded developer licences in early May for 165MW of solar PV facilities across the country, almost exactly five years since inviting bids. Whether bankable power-purchase agreements (PPAs) are attainable within the one-year timeframe amid a political and financial crisis is highly uncertain. However, the failings of the existing electricity system and heavily indebted utility Electricite du Liban—coupled with fossil-fuel poverty unusual for the region—are drawing increasing attention to the country’s largely untapped renewables potential. In 2017, the Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC), an arm of the Ministry of Energy and Water, launched an auctio