Institutional Support: A Prerequisite for Technological Innovation in RE Production in Lebanon

Transcription

1 Institutional Support: A Prerequisite for Technological Innovation in RE Production in Lebanon Workshop on RES and New Technologies for Energy Production Dr. Yaser Abunnasr ya20@aub.edu.lb Petra Samaha petra.samaha@gmail.com Valletta, Malta May 3, 2017

2 Hassan Kamel Al Sabbah Inventor of the first device that turns sunlight into electricity in 1930

3 CONTEXT Technological Innovation needs to be supported by a strong institutional framework CAUSES: Laws and Regulations: absent, outdated or weakly implemented Undeclared Austerity Policies (1996): wages of employees in the public sector employment in the public sector- Public investments & equipment (affecting electricity) Corruption High Percentage of Refugees: ~0.5 GW extra demand CONSEQUENCES: Increasingly crumbling infrastructure Recurrent cutouts Absence of a holistic vision in planning and biased public policies Escalation of the national debt: ~2.5 Billion $ yearly subsidies from government to EDL Tariffs set below cost recovery Lack of basic planning : target 12% RE for 2020 set in 2010, bidding started in 2017 Degenerating energy and power sector as any other sector (transportation, agriculture )

4 Proposed yet unimplemented RE law no regulatory authority to apply it Loans from international donors to finance developments in a fragmented way, and often end up unfinished or inefficient CONTEXT Examples [Perceived as INNOVATIVE ]: Turkish power-generating ships "Fatima Gul" and "Orhan B Beirut River Solar Snake (BRSS) 12% RE target by 2020?

5 Country Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Demonstration Project for the Recovery of Lebanon - CEDRO CEDRO is a project that operates as a program. It was established in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW), the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR). CEDRO is managed by UNDP and funded by the EU, evading the bureaucracy and corruption of Lebanese governmental institutions. The project works on policy support, studies, projects implementation and awareness raising. It operates at the national level through projects of small and large scales. CEDRO 1 was established in 2007, and then followed by CEDRO 2 and 3 that ended in June Currently CEDRO 4 is in operation and builds on the previous 3 phases of CEDRO ( ).

6 CEDRO Scope of Work Since 2007, CEDRO has assisted the Lebanese Government to set the 12% target of renewable energy power within the energy mix by It has also realized national studies concerning the following renewable energy sources: Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Biomass (e.g. the National Wind Atlas). CEDRO has also implemented renewable energy applications nation-wide, ranging from photovoltaic (PV) and micro wind systems, to large-scale solar hot water (SHW), pico-hydro, solar street lighting, and ground source heat pump projects.

7 CEDRO Major Projects Briquettes production (new to Lebanon as there are very few such facilities in existence) Solar hybrid systems; Lebanon suffers from blackouts and brownouts, and therefore any integration of RE systems must fit well in this reality. Therefore solar PV and diesel genset integration and synchronization is somehow unique in this context. Low Carbon Village introduce village/community net metering.

8 CEDRO National Wind Atlas The CEDRO project has published the National Wind Atlas of the Country. Both onshore and offshore wind maps have been generated, and results are very positive particularly for onshore wind farm prospects. The constrained potential for onshore wind power in Lebanon has been estimated to be equivalent to 6.1 GW, yet when particular parameters are altered and sensitivity analysis applied, the potential becomes 1.5 GW. This potential has been obtained after filtering out sites where wind farms cannot be constructed, such as urban areas, national forests or parks, historic sites, military sites, sites with steep terrain, and using a minimum average annual wind speed of 6.5 m/s and above, and a density of 8 MW/km2. This potential does not include, however, the constraints set by the Lebanese electricity network.

9 CEDRO Refugee Host Communities The project aims at strengthening the communities resilience in the form of supporting them in meeting basic local needs in terms of energy supply and consumption. Energy was already a major problem in Lebanon even before the Syrian crisis. Now it has augmented with this crisis, where at least 9-12 hours of blackout occurs per day, and the delivery of hot water is not guaranteed. The project focuses on installing different types of renewable energy technologies in the region of Akkar. Systems include photovoltaic street lighting, small-pv generation systems for household lighting, and solar hot water systems for facilities to deliver basic hot water. Another project aims for the provision of sustainable lighting and heating to the host communities in both Akkar and Bekaa. The installations include: a) Small-scale Photovoltaic systems for household lighting and environmentally sustainable briquette stoves and briquette supply to warm a 100m 2 room on average.

10 Refugee Host Communities Stove Bio-energy application (for heating) from forestry residues

11 Conclusion o Innovation requires a supportive environment, not in terms of technology or expertise only, but policies/political will, good governance and innovative market conditions o CEDRO is a one example with limited capacities at the national scale o The role of the State is necessary, no other institution/organization can replace it

12 THANKYOU Dr. Yaser Abunnasr Petra Samaha