Lebanon

The Lebanese government has approved 11 licenses for 165 MW of PV capacity. The licenses are part of a 180 MW solar tender that the country initiated in January 2017.

Amid reports of panels that should be destined for recycling instead being sold off in the Middle East and Africa, and the potential to bulk out products with non-functioning solar cells, a Beirut-based body has advised the government to shut down second-hand imports.

A year after a sudden explosion in Beirut killed more than 200 people, destroying solar installations in the port and sending the country into a complete downfall, a question emerges: Can Lebanon use this experience to set its economy on a new sustainable pathway, supported by a viable energy sector? Solar energy offers some lessons.

The news Lebanon installed new solar capacity last year has come as a huge surprise, given the country is at risk of failure. Amid the country’s crisis, solar is offering solutions.

A French-Lebanese research group has proposed a way to cool down PV modules by using air exhausted from heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. They showed that array performance improves when the cooling load rises.

Lebanon failed to make a bond payment of $1.2 billion due on March 9 – the first sovereign default in the country’s history. pv magazine looks at how Lebanon’s debt troubles are now starting to affect the development of renewable energy.

FlexiDAO is using its software to track the production of solar power from four PV plants in the nation, in conjunction with the UN Development Program.

Solar deployment continued to pick up in the Middle East and North Africa in 2019, the Middle East Solar Industry Association has said in its annual report.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is seeking consultants for a feasibility study for the project. The plant would be constructed on land owned by the Banque du Liban.

The nation has plans for two ambitious renewable energy tenders but the procurement process is dragging and Lebanese institutions lack experience in designing such schemes. A solution will be provided by Europe.