Energy and Water Minister Nada Boustani reiterated Wednesday that renewable energy will represent 12 percent of the total generated energy in 2020. “We reaffirm our commitment to reach the target of 12 percent renewable energy in 2020, especially after the ministry signed three contracts to buy energy from wind farms in the Akkar area of northern Lebanon with a total capacity of 226 megawatts,” the minister said at the opening of an energy conference at Le Royal Hotel in Dbayeh.
The wind farms were part of the energy plan that was approved by the Cabinet and Parliament.
Lebanon has already awarded the contracts to the companies that will build and install the wind farms in Akkar region.
“We have put in the Energy and Water Ministry a major priority on building productive and effective partnerships with the private sector to achieve the goal of generating electricity from wind farms,” the minister said.
Boustani pointed to the special cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) within the framework of the development of the national roadmap to reach the proportion of renewable energy contribution of 30 percent of the total generated energy in 2030 according to the announcement of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
“The two studies carried out by the ministry in cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency showed opportunities to reach these objectives if the legal path is clear and the if political support of the sector is guaranteed. We have a group of experts and consultants working on these files since 2009 and until today,” Boustani said.
She added that the course of development of renewable energy in Lebanon will create great opportunities for investment in the next 10 years, especially with the ministry’s keenness to enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors and achieving a smooth transition to the national goals.
“We are aware that there is an urgent need to develop an appropriate and attractive investment environment to invest in renewable energy projects and increase investor confidence,” the minister said.
She also pointed out that “the National Committee, headed by the representative of the energy and water minister, in the presence of the representative of the finance minister, unveiled the financial bids from the private sector to build solar photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of up to 180 megawatts, at a rate of 45 megawatts per governorate, with the hope of deciding the final prices and issuing licenses in the Cabinet soon.
“To complement the renewable energy track in Lebanon, we note that during the closing session of this forum, an integrated tender document will be launched to build new private power plants to produce 500 megawatts of wind power,” Boustani said.
“We know that without strong and productive partnerships with the private sector, this sector would not have been active, and I emphasize the importance of these partnerships, especially on the strategic relationship with Banque du Liban. “
The Energy Ministry is also counting on LNG to operate most of the new power plants that will be built in the next two years.
At present, Lebanon has only two power plants that are capable of running on gas with a 400-megawatt capacity each. The two power plants were built in 1996 for this purpose.
The Daily Star
26/09/2019
