Going shades of green

Lebanon could license the construction of nearly 380 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy plants as early as this summer, a Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) official tells Executive. This would mean a rise in generation capacity of just over 20 percent — a far cry from satisfying the country’s demand for power. This clean electricity, generated through new windmill installations and solar farms, would, however, help Lebanon reach its 2020 target of 12 percent renewable energy in the national power mix. Companies would need to raise capital to finance construction of the projects, a not-so-difficult prospect thanks to a 2010 central bank incentive and spurred on by last year’s Paris Agreement on climate change. (Click on image to enlarge) Wind’s picking up It is in a blustery part of north Lebanon that the government envisions construction of three windfarms. Near Akkar, in the country’s wind