INTRODUCING MICRO-GRIDS IN LEBANON: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES- THE CASE STUDY OF RASHAYYA

Abstract

Lebanon suffers from a huge electricity deficit for a long time because the demand is super passing the supply in addition to a huge economical deficit due to the mismanagement of this sector. Many experts say that the solution might be in implementing microgrids that motivate the usage of renewable energy distributed generators especially with the price reduction in the PV cells and the wind turbine due to the increase in production and technological advancement. The literature review has shown that the microgrids have many benefits in both the developed and developing countries and have shown its good performance and it was able to reach its target based on some case studies even though some barriers were found to be existing.

Rashayya ‘s area seems to be the perfect place for the government to implement those projects due to many geological, economical and technical issues. A study done for Rashayya’s area was very beneficial in specifying the barriers that might face such projects and what might motivate it to achieve its established targets and to propose some policies and recommendations that might help in moving this sector forward and overcome the barriers. Moreover, modeling of a PV farm in Rashayya using Homer software has shown that the PV farm will be financially feasible with a payback period of seven years. The Lebanese government incorporation with the local municipalities needs to work more on implementing such projects mainly with the current electricity crisis that were are facing right now.