The power situation in Lebanon is grim. A weak and inefficient power grid, rising fuel prices and the devaluation of the country’s currency are the primary culprits in a perfect storm that’s deepened Lebanon’s economic and electricity crisis this year.
Crippling rolling blackouts, which leave residents and businesses with as little as two hours of electricity a day, are a new normal.
Fixing the energy crisis
To help overcome the country’s electricity shortages, 13 new microgrid projects are being deployed. The solar microgrids, which were commissioned by 13 engineering, procurement and construction companies, include the STI29CP-50HV, Sungrow’s commercial and industrial energy storage system (ESS).
“Sungrow’s ESS solutions supplied in this microgrid provide a 24-hour [electricity] supply for these projects and make them independent from pollutive diesel generation,” according to Alvin Shi, managing director of Sungrow MENA region.
According to the company, the STI29CP-50HV is a highly-integrated, space saving storage solution that includes both a power conversion system and batteries, which streamlines installation. It’s also modular and it offers flexible battery configurations to meet a variety of customer needs.
Reducing diesel emissions
The solar plus storage microgrids will also work to reduce the country’s carbon dioxide emissions. To meet the national electricity demand, the country and its residents and businesses have increasingly turned to diesel generators. But they only add to the country’s already critical environmental concerns.
Recent months have brought both devastating floods and wildfires to the north of the country, natural disasters that environmentalists attribute in part to climate change.
Microgrids work in Lebanon
With over 300 days of sunshine, Lebanon is a perfect place for renewable energy development, according to Shi, who noted that the country can continue to “decentralize its electricity supply with more innovative solutions.”
Other solar plus storage microgrids have successfully been demonstrated in the country in recent years. For example, in 2019, Firebird Energy built a microgrid in partnership with Recycle Beirut.
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