8 LEVANT: WHERE POLITICS DEFEAT ALTERNATIVE …
217
56.37 MWp from solar PV. Of the distributed solar PV, 33.7%, equivalent
to 19 MWp, were installed that year. 26 The first wind farms tender was
launched in 2013. Due to a lengthy cabinet vacuum lasting for several
months and which is typical to Lebanon due to the historic political
divide, the absence of an energy regulator for the same political reasons,
intermittent policies permitting power licensing, along with other political dynamics, 25-year PPAs were only signed in the year 2018. Three
different joint ventures with a total capacity of 212 MWp are to be
installed in Akkar, North of Lebanon, and expected to be completed by
2021 at the cost of $0.1045 per kWh for the first three years, and $0.095
per kWh for the remaining period.
Compared to a regional average of $0.06 per kWh, these farms come
at a significant cost due to the risk premium that the private sector
had to account for. The first round for solar PV farms was launched
in 2017, but the contract awarding has not been completed to date. In
2018, a call for EOI for a second round of wind and solar farms was
launched, but the bidding process has not started yet. While reasons for
the delay haven’t been communicated, the economic crisis that hit fall
2019 predicts that moving ahead will be even slower, as attracting investments will be challenging and the cost of debt and risk premiums will be
high.
The lowest share of renewable energy among these three countries is
recorded in Palestine at only 1% of the primary energy demand. Solar
energy is the most prominent renewable resource for Palestine. The
installed capacity in Palestine is estimated at 50 MWp, of which 10 MWp
are in Gaza and 40 MW in the West Bank. Of the total installed capacity,
20 MWp are of commercial size and the remaining 30 MWp are smallscale distributed systems implemented through the net-metering scheme.
However, the sector faces many political, technical, and economic hurdles,
including constrained land spaces, limited grid capacity, and low ability to
attract investments.
The Oslo Accords, signed in Washington, DC in September 1993,
between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, classified land
into three areas A, B, and C, requiring the Palestinian authorities to secure
Israeli approval over the usage of the majority of lands. There is significant
solar potential of more than 3,000 MW in the West Bank Area C, suitable for solar PV and concentrated solar power (CSP), 27 yet Israel holds
control over 61% of area C, questioning the possibility of harnessing this
potential. The Gaza Strip has more extreme land restrictions.
217
56.37 MWp from solar PV. Of the distributed solar PV, 33.7%, equivalent
to 19 MWp, were installed that year. 26 The first wind farms tender was
launched in 2013. Due to a lengthy cabinet vacuum lasting for several
months and which is typical to Lebanon due to the historic political
divide, the absence of an energy regulator for the same political reasons,
intermittent policies permitting power licensing, along with other political dynamics, 25-year PPAs were only signed in the year 2018. Three
different joint ventures with a total capacity of 212 MWp are to be
installed in Akkar, North of Lebanon, and expected to be completed by
2021 at the cost of $0.1045 per kWh for the first three years, and $0.095
per kWh for the remaining period.
Compared to a regional average of $0.06 per kWh, these farms come
at a significant cost due to the risk premium that the private sector
had to account for. The first round for solar PV farms was launched
in 2017, but the contract awarding has not been completed to date. In
2018, a call for EOI for a second round of wind and solar farms was
launched, but the bidding process has not started yet. While reasons for
the delay haven’t been communicated, the economic crisis that hit fall
2019 predicts that moving ahead will be even slower, as attracting investments will be challenging and the cost of debt and risk premiums will be
high.
The lowest share of renewable energy among these three countries is
recorded in Palestine at only 1% of the primary energy demand. Solar
energy is the most prominent renewable resource for Palestine. The
installed capacity in Palestine is estimated at 50 MWp, of which 10 MWp
are in Gaza and 40 MW in the West Bank. Of the total installed capacity,
20 MWp are of commercial size and the remaining 30 MWp are smallscale distributed systems implemented through the net-metering scheme.
However, the sector faces many political, technical, and economic hurdles,
including constrained land spaces, limited grid capacity, and low ability to
attract investments.
The Oslo Accords, signed in Washington, DC in September 1993,
between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, classified land
into three areas A, B, and C, requiring the Palestinian authorities to secure
Israeli approval over the usage of the majority of lands. There is significant
solar potential of more than 3,000 MW in the West Bank Area C, suitable for solar PV and concentrated solar power (CSP), 27 yet Israel holds
control over 61% of area C, questioning the possibility of harnessing this
potential. The Gaza Strip has more extreme land restrictions.