Energy is the main concern nowadays for trying to lift the Lebanese economy, since the production of energy is less than the market demand>

I think discussing this issue should light up on efficient ways to produce cheap energy.

http://www.undp.org.lb/ProjectFactSheet/projectDetail.cfm?projectId=127

Project ID
00060150

Background
Lebanon imports around 97% of its energy needs in the form of fossil fuel, which places a very heavy burden on the economy. Despite major steps taken by the Government of Lebanon since 1990 towards improving the electricity sector, the sector is still facing major challenges including inability to meet increasing national energy demand. This situation was further aggrevated by the July 2006 conflict, resulting in a reduction in electricity supply on a national level and a deterioration in the living conditions in the country.
The objective of the CEDRO project is to support early recovery activities through (1)the implementation of end-use energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to reduce national energy consumption and costs and (2)setting an enabling environment for the conversion of all public sector buildings and facilities into energy efficient modalities

The project is line with ongoing national efforts to improve patterns of energy consumptions and costs.


Achievements & Expected Results
Implementation of model energy efficiency and renewable energy applications for public buildings and facilities, and setting an enabling environment for the implementation of a Sustainable Energy Strategy through achieving the following activities:
1. Situation Analysis and Assessment
2. Implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
3. Establishment of database on energy saving measures and results
4. Increased know how of public sector personnel on energy efficiency and renewable energy applications and policies
5. Establishment of relevant institutional policies and procedures for the application of EE/RE measures in public sector buildings and facilities

OGERO, Lebanon's Telecom operator will implement a renewable energy source, WIND TURBINE, in one of it's stations in mount lebanon. Hopefully it will start operating by the end of next week, replaceing a diesel cell that kept running all years round. This is a pilot project that if succeeded will be followed by another 10 stations all over the country.

^^ Now we r talking :cheers:

The foundation kit is finished, waiting for it to dry, the turbine is shipped by plane from Scotland, hopefully it will be installed by Friday 17.10.2008 and the blades will be rotating by Saturday. I'll try to post pictures if some one tells me how.

:banana::banana::banana:

The foundation kit is finished, waiting for it to dry, the turbine is shipped by plane from Scotland, hopefully it will be installed by Friday 17.10.2008 and the blades will be rotating by Saturday. I'll try to post pictures if some one tells me how.

Upload pictures to imageshack and then post the links here and we'll format them to where they are imbedded

i hope it wont ruin any scenic views^^^

Don't worry, no plants in more than one km radius, it's a harsh environment up there

not sure if this is the one you are talking about
courtesy of mr. ian
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/Nadini23/MisterIan2.jpg

^^ i think it's the one,looking good,but only one???

it looks liek a photoshop image...thats not real. I don't think it would be that big even. That thing would supply a small village lol What exactly is it going to power? Telephone exchange?

Btw what is that little entrance dwn on the bottom? looks like a bunker..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31834146@N02/2980532817/

I can't upload the pictures so I posted a URL to my flickr account, The one uploaded in post #10 is in west Bekaa as I imagine, and OGERO's one is in Ain Hazir between zahle and Tarshish

Ogeros size is more like it..i am still skeptical of post 10

L'Orient-Le Jour
Saturday, December 13th, 2008

Development
Renewable energy, economic potential untapped
The article by Bachir EL-KHOURY

Beyond the purely ecological, exploitation of fossil energy in a country which imports 96% of its energy needs and receives sunlight through 3 000 hours per year, has many advantages.
With more than three billion dollars spent last year for the purchase of petroleum products, about 13% of GDP in 2007, Lebanon awash under the weight of an energy bill that continues to grow for years. The country has yet everything, or almost, enabling it to produce a portion of its energy from renewable sources (sun, water, wind, etc.). And reduce imports, which cover almost 96% its energy needs.
"Since 2001, the cost of imports of petroleum products tripled. The surge in oil prices is certainly for many. This state of dependence, which makes us totally dependent on the evolution of world prices, may have more serious repercussions in the long term, "said Said Shehab, president of the Lebanese Association for Energy Management and the Environment (Alme). The development of solar energy (thermal and photovoltaic), wind, hydro, and others, is therefore of particular importance, especially that Lebanon suffers from a shortage of electricity. "Lebanon must increase its production capacity to end the current shortages. It should therefore install new thermal power plants (running on fossil fuels), for an amount exceeding $ 300 million, "said Rabih Khairallah, chairman of the Energy Committee to the order of engineers. "All these are investing in renewable energy development, which not only reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, especially from lower import bill," he adds.
Today, no non-fossil energy, however, is sufficiently exploited in Lebanon. The hydroénergie, the only alternative form of energy produced by mass, represents, for example, that 1.3% of total primary energy supply. Under Alme, with an estimated hydropower potential of 600 megawatts, Lebanon may yet produce up to 2 000 GWh per year (against 585 GWh in 2007), more than 15% of its total electricity production today. The country can also rely on its wind energy potential, estimated at 150 megawatts in power and several hundred GWh in terms of power, but sunshine through 3 000 hours per year to produce 4.8 kWh/m2 ( against 3 kWh/m2 Germany). The potential of biomass (a term referring to all organic matter can be converted into energy) and geothermal (energy created from the earth's heat) is not to neglect, say experts.

Long-term savings
But despite this potential, renewable energy n'intéressent for the moment neither the State nor the large investors. The creation of new dams, installing turbines or photovoltaic (PV) effect require investments of hundreds of millions of dollars, amortized over a long period of up to 20 years (except heaters Solar water whose profitability is beginning to be felt after two to four years). For example, the installation of a 60 MW wind involves an investment of $ 60 million and a kWh of electricity produced from energy costs about 0.18 euros, equivalent to 400 pounds , "Says Said Chehab. A figure higher than the current rate of EDL, subsidized, which varies between 35 and 200 pounds per kWh (based on slices of consumption). But Chehab, this comparison is not quite accurate. "This rate, unchanged for at least ten years, does not reflect the actual cost of a kWh produced from oil. Therefore, it can not be used as comparison tool, "he says. According to him, the economic advantage of structures for renewables is that they do not imply a continuous supply in fuel or maintenance costs high, after installation, unlike conventional structures. The gain is long term, the marginal cost of production decreases with time. But beyond considerations of profitability, the current state of the electricity sector does not encourage investors to engage in costly projects in the absence of a credible, knowing that the energy produced will be sold to 'EDL to be distributed to the public.
In Europe, where this problem does not arise, the interest of these sources of clean energy has resulted in a directive from the European Commission requiring member countries to reach 20% of renewable electricity of by 2020 while reducing energy consumption in the same proportion.

Develop projects of energy efficiency
For many analysts, the efforts must not only be done on the supply side, but also in demand.
"The development of projects aimed at rationalizing energy consumption nationwide is a quick and effective alternative," said Pierre Khoury, project manager LCEC (Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation), supported by UNDP. These include the fight against waste of energy. "This goes for example by the thermal insulation of buildings that allows itself to reduce by 40% the energy bill," said Rabih Khairallah. The use of fluorescent bulbs in lighting, energy labels on certain products (refrigerators, for example) to tell the consumer the level of energy consumption for each unit, are among the projects relatively low cost and may contribute to the reduction of the bill on the import of petroleum products.
Meanwhile, the country should already have a national committee for energy, if only to start thinking about a long-term policy.

Source: http://nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=77972

Renewable alternatives
Is off-shore drilling the answer to Lebanon’s energy needs?



A recently discovered oil field off the Lebanese coast may contain enough fossil fuels to meet the country’s domestic energy requirements, with a surplus that may be exported, Energy and Water Minister Alain Tabourian has confirmed. The field lies 4,000 meters below sea-level, and a draft law authorising drilling this reserve will be ready to be submitted for parliamentary approval in two months, the minister said.

Is this good news for a country that currently imports 97% of its energy in the form of fossil fuels? The financial costs of the current situation are certainly staggering. In 2005, energy imports cost the country $2.1 billion, the equivalent of 26% of the annual public expenditure, according to the United Nations Development Program, and the energy sector declined further following the 2006 July War. In addition to the cost to the public sector, private consumers and businesses pay for generators to cover rolling power outages.

While the economic benefits of fossil fuel-based energy independence would be considerable, there is another alternative for Lebanon: Renewable energy. Green groups, engineers and members of Lebanon’s own environmental party disagree over exactly which renewable energy sources are most suitable for the country, but they do agree that the current political situation is an obstacle to a sustainable solution.

Renewable alternatives

“We have tried to remind the government that the world is moving toward renewable energy, but this fell on deaf ears,” said Ali Darwich, former president of the environmental Greenline organization. Darwich is not surprised by the recent moves to tap into domestic oil supplies, as he says this concept has been repeated by ministers since 1991 to justify their inability to form a comprehensive energy policy.

While advocating the use of a mix of renewable energy sources, Darwich believes “The only source of energy that is suitable for Lebanon is wind energy.” He says Lebanon currently has a daily deficit of 1000 mega watt hours of domestic electricity production, compared with the country’s requirements. He believes that wind power has the potential to cover half of this deficit at a cost of approximately $640 million. This could become a reality within a couple of years, according to Darwich, if the project is given the necessary resources and there are not political disputes regarding the location of the wind turbines.

Solar power is also a “major resource that is under-utilized,” according to Alain Shehadeh, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the American University of Beirut. Citing successful projects in Jordan and the West Bank, Shehadeh says that solar water heating can be installed on houses using local expertise and widely-available materials. In addition to the environmental benefits, they are also economically viable, as savings from these relatively simple devices off-set installation costs within 18 months to two years. While the energy savings are relatively modest, the installation of domestic renewable energy devices means that the gains are immediate and are not held hostage to big government programs.

The generation of solar electricity is more complicated and would need to occur on a nation-wide scale, according to Shehadeh. Darwich agrees, saying that solar energy would require significant government subsidies and support mechanisms, such as those seen in Europe, in order to make it affordable for consumers. He added that such government investment is not possible, given a long history of the embezzlement of public energy funds. Shehadeh instead blames “the constant sense of crisis,” for politicians’ inability to make a commitment to a project with such long-term goals.

A renewable example

But there is some progress being made on the ground. Locally-based renewable energy and energy saving devises are being installed in buildings that were badly destroyed during the 2006 July War, according to Matilda El-Khoury, the project manager of the UNDP’s Community Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Demonstration Project for the Recovery of Lebanon (CEDRO). This body is particularly focused on installing green back-up energy systems for local public hospitals and schools.

By establishing demonstration projects and documenting the resulting energy savings, Khoury says “the CEDRO project aims at the establishment of a demonstrative model which would promote energy efficiency and renewable energy applications in Lebanon.” Such projects demonstrate that, at least on a small scale, such green energy production is viable.

Green politics

“Lebanon’s environmental problems are huge, although they don’t seem to be a concern for the ruling elites,” said Ossama Safa, the secretary-general of the Green Party of Lebanon. This non-sectarian, independent party was formed six months ago in an attempt to ensure environmental issues become a government priority. While the Green Party’s political bureau has not yet decided whether it will compete in the upcoming elections, the party is set to publicly launch its agenda in March.

One of the party’s goals is to introduce a draft law into parliament regarding the adoption of renewable energy, as a combination of hydroelectric, wind and solar forms of energy could meet a significant percentage of the nation’s power needs. Yet, Safa says, there are major obstacles to this proposal, including infrastructure limitations, cost, public awareness and politics. Inertia from the “large network of middlemen” associated with importing energy makes it difficult to change the current system, Safa told NOW Lebanon, lamenting that “the political will is lacking” when it comes to renewable energy alternatives.

Safa also acknowledges that it would be impossible to totally wean the country off fossil fuels. He offers his cautious support for the drilling program, as long as it is carried out in accordance with international standards that protect marine life and the environment. But since Lebanon does not have a regulatory framework for off-shore drilling, it is expensive, and it is not certain how economically viable it is, Safa believes the proposed off-shore drilling project will not begin any time soon. He acknowledges, however, that it does have the potential to “flood the country” with desperately needed cash and decrease its hefty foreign energy bills.

In a country with a history of political friction, the spoils of any “flood” of cash would certainly be highly contested. Oil drilling may also hamper the nation’s other cash-cow: tourism centred on the country’s beautiful beaches.

http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/boudi_70/Ain%20Hazir/IMG_0445.jpg

Hope they use that one to generate electricity

11:17am President Michel Suleiman arrived in the town of al-Yamouneh in Baalbeck to lay the cornerstone for al-Yamouneh dam.

i guess the electricity problem is a major part due to the corrupt politician s we have. i mean in now 20 years since 1990 it is enought time to improve this sector since we have a lot of sun so we can built huge solar plants and lebanon has enought water to make also big water plans to produce energy. it is really disgrace that half lebanon is dark at night beacause there is no energy and u always have to pay for the motor nd electricity coming fromt he government.

hopefully the will save the money for buyin solar cells nd wind turbines nd make water dams to replace fuel consumption

So does lebanon have a strategic plan to solve its electricity problem...?

I heard about a plan to tie into an electricity grid with Egypt... Egypt these days seems to export a lot of electricity (or gas, which can generate electricity i think, lol)...

So what plans are in place.. Is there a timeline...??

Cuz its sad, when even the capital, Beirut, and in uptown neighborhood like Achrafieh, they have to suffer from coordinated outages and power rationing....

I heard that its gotten worse in achrafieh since a while back, cuz of protests in the dahiye area.. Cuz they demanded more outages in achrafieh, and less in the da7iye area, and they seem to have gotten their way lol...