Meed | Lebanon moves to secure $150m solar financing

Lebanon moves to secure $150m solar financing

9 May 2023

Lebanon is working to secure financing for the 11 solar independent power projects (IPP) for which it has signed power-purchase agreements (PPAs) with private developers.

“We signed the PPAs a few days ago and we are keen to discuss with investors, such as Total and other French or international companies, [about investing] in these projects,” Lebanon's Energy and Water Minister Walid Fayad told MEED on the sidelines of the ongoing World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi on 9 May.

The 11 projects have a combined capacity of 165MW and will require a total investment of $150m, according to Fayad.

He also said similar agreements had been signed for three wind IPPs with a total combined capacity of 280MW across Lebanon.

“We need and are looking for financing for all these projects,” Fayad said.

MEED understands the licences for these projects were issued and signed in 2022.

In March last year, Lebanon’s cabinet approved a plan to restructure the country’s electricity sector, a key factor in securing extended financing from donors and the World Bank for regional deals to alleviate power shortages.

The reform plan is understood to include the creation of an electricity regulatory authority as well as a revised version of an earlier plan to increase electricity tariffs.

The previous plan forecasted a $3.5bn investment in the sector to secure 24-hour power across the country by 2026.

The country has not had 24-hour electricity since the 1975-90 civil war. Periodic cash transfers to debt-ridden state utility Electricite du Liban have also contributed to Lebanon’s huge public debt.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo