Rising energy demands boost investment opportunities in Lebanon

Experts estimate the gap between Lebanon’s energy supply and demand to be as much as 1 gigawatt. The residential sector represents 30 percent of total electricity consumption, according to The First Energy Indicators Report released by the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC).

The residential building sector is followed by the commercial sector, which accounts for 27 percent of demand, then by the industrial sector (19 percent), and health and education (16 percent). Demand for electricity within the residential sector has increased by more than 87 percent since 2009. Cooling and dehumidification combined constitute 40 percent of the total electricity demand from households. This is followed by lighting, which accounts for 31 percent of total demand.

major energy projects announced by the high council
for privatization and ppp

Source: IDAL (Investment Development Authority of Lebanon) , IIF

Zahrani and Selaata IPP Projects
PROJECT TIMELINE

IPP Transaction Closure is expected within 18 months from the start of the Transaction Advisory services to be performed by the IFC.
Projects completion to be within a maximum of 30 months from award.

EXPECTED CAPEX
$600 million per project

Solid Waste to Energy System Project
PROJECT TIMELINE

Site identification and expropriation.
Undertake EIA and seek approval of MoE.
Final design and tender documents ready for EPC tendering.
Expected construction period of 3 - 5 years.

EXPECTED COST
$450 million

A new phase for renewable energy in Lebanon

Lebanon currently has a maximum electricity-generation capacity of 2000 megawatts (MW), far less than the 2017 summer peak demand of 3400 MW. In the coming year, the government could license almost 1200 MW of new electricity-generation capacity. Of those megawatts, 400 could come from the construction of clean, renewable energy. Wind power would generate up to 200 megawatts in a blustery area in north Lebanon, and solar photovoltaic (PV) could produce up to 180 MW across different parts of the country.

Lebanon is seeking to enter power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable energy supply and has called on “private investors and companies interested” to submit expressions of interest (EOI) to deliver multi-megawatt solar PV projects with co-located energy storage. A total of 210MWp to 300MWp of solar PV projects are being sought, across three projects that could be of 70MWp to 100MWp capacity each.
For solar PV, the government received 42 bids at the end of October 2017. The plan is to build 12 solar plants across four districts of Lebanon—three each in South Lebanon, Mount Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and North Lebanon.
The government also plans for a second PV licensing round in early 2019. By the end of 2016, Lebanon had installed 23 MW of solar generation capacity, according to UNDP’s Small Decentralized Renewable Energy Power Generation Project.
Companies from 21 countries have taken part in Lebanon's Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the development of 200 MW-400 MW of wind capacity. Lebanon launched this second-round wind EoI in January. It seeks proposals for the construction of four wind farms with a total capacity of 200 MW-400 MW.
In early 2018, three local companies signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Lebanon's Ministry of Energy and Water for 200 MW of wind power.