Jan 12, 2023 07:00:00

Why is solar power booming in Lebanon?

In recent years,

Lebanon in the Middle East has faced serious power shortages amid soaring inflation, unemployment and poverty rates. In Lebanon, solar power generation is thriving, and solar panels are installed everywhere, such as residential rooftops, balconies, and commercial facilities. The reason is explained by Christine Monroe, an anthropologist at the University of Kentucky.

In Lebanon, Solar Power Booms – SAPIENS
https://www.sapiens.org/culture/lebanon-solar-power/

Mr. Monroe had been conducting research in Lebanon for more than 10 years, but in the past few years it was difficult to travel due to the epidemic of the new coronavirus. In the meantime, Lebanon was experiencing economic collapse, anti-government demonstrations, and sectarian conflicts.

In the 1990s, the Lebanese government began issuing government bonds to fund reconstruction after the civil war in Lebanon . As of 2023, Lebanon's government bond issuance amounted to about $ 85 billion (about 11.26 trillion yen), nearly half of which is devoted to the power sector.

In addition, it was discovered that politicians with vested interests in power supply for many years had diverted Lebanese deposits to the state-owned power company Lebanon Electricity as a subsidy. It has lost 90% in value over the past three years. In addition, the economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Syria, where the civil war continues, has made it difficult to import energy resources from neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan, making energy shortages even more serious.

As a result, the Lebanese government has lost the leeway to import diesel fuel and provide subsidies, and is on the brink of economic collapse.

Lebanon Power has been plagued by chronic power shortages, but by October 2021, diesel fuel will be completely depleted, causing a nationwide blackout. After that, Lebanon Electric said that it limited the power supply to two hours a day.

In Lebanon, which suffers from power shortages, many people use expensive generators provided by private companies with ties to civil servants and fuel importers, known as the 'generator mafia.' It seems that the electricity of the apartment where Mr. Monroe stayed was covered by the minimum electricity supplied by Lebanon Electricity and the electricity of the generator purchased by all the residents of the apartment.

In this way, a movement to revitalize solar power generation was born amid the idea that citizens should take responsibility for their own power procurement.

Although there is a sharp class divide in

Beirut , the capital of Lebanon, solar panels are not just for the privileged class, even lower-class houses have solar panels installed. In addition, the spread of solar power generation is not limited to Beirut, but is also spreading in rural areas.

Mr. Eunice, a friend of Mr. Monroe, has lost his job building a house, so he can no longer run an expensive generator all day. In Lebanon, electricity is required to pump water, and Eunice's home sometimes did not even have water. So Mr. Eunice said that he received a loan of $ 3,500 (about 460,000 yen) directly from a private solar panel company and installed a solar panel at home.

``We are in a financing situation, but the solar panels have eased our family's stressful situation,'' Eunice said.

“Many Lebanese will go into even more debt by raising their own funds to solve their economic and political collapse,” Monroe said. This will allow people to live peaceful lives and regain the dignity that was lost in the collapse of the state.'