Wind energy in Lebanon

Lebanon will invite international companies  to bid for the construction of a 60-megawatt wind farm, Energy Minister Gebran Bassil announced Thursday.

“It would be possible to produce wind energy and sell it to Electricite du Liban after the conclusion of the tender, which awaits approval by the Cabinet,” Bassil said during the opening of the Beirut Energy Forum.

 

 

According to Bassil, the tender would allow the production of electricity at a low cost than is currently the case.

Lebanon suffers from chronic electricity rationing due to low energy production, particularly in the summer months.

The United Nations Development Program country director, Luca Renda, called on Lebanon to adhere to its commitment to increase renewable energy production to 12 percent by 2020.

“This requires making number of partnerships and building cooperation between all sides,” Renda said.

He added that UNDP has thrown its weight behind the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation, a government institute, and its call to encourage the use of solar water heaters across the country.

During the conference, the Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut announced they are going into partnership with UNDP to provide soft loans that will enable them to fund 1,000 solar heaters.