Lebanon to launch 360 MW solar tender

Lebanon’s Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) will issue a tender for 360 MW of PV projects this year, as soon as the tender for 180 MW of solar, which is currently running, concludes.

In a statement to pv magazine, LCEC's Director of Engineering & Planning, Rani Al Achkar specified that the new tender will select a total of 24 solar power projects. “This second round should give more chance for bidders that failed to qualify for this round, as result of them missing minor technical or administrative documents, or bidders that did not have enough time to identify suitable lands,” Al Achkar said.

As for the ongoing 180 MW tender, he said that the technical evaluation of the bids will be launched hopefully this week, and that 12 projects are expected to be awarded during this process. The projects will sell power at a rate not exceeding $0.11/kWh and will spread across four implementation regions, which are Bekaa and Hermel, South and Nabatieh, North and Akkar, and Mount Lebanon. Overall, around 3 GW of solar projects were submitted in this tender’s pre-qualification phase. According to the LCEC, however, several developers have decided to exit the auction, as developers are not allowed to invest in more than one solar project.

The second tender is planned for 12 solar power facilities with a power range of 10 to 15 MW. Selected projects will sell power to local utility, Electricité du Liban (EDL) at a price that may not exceed $0.10 per kWh. All of the power plants will be located in the districts of Bekaa and Hermel (34%), South and Nabatieh (25%), North and Akkar (21%), and Mount Lebanon (16%).

The Lebanese Cabinet approved the plan to implement the 180 MW auction late last March. The Middle Eastern country currently has an installed solar power of around 22 MW, most of which comprises small and medium-sized rooftop PV systems.