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Energía e Independencia

Me pareció interesante esta aproximación al tema dependencia energética en el Líbano además del potencial de las energías no convencionales. En un área tan delicada donde la influencia no es solo política (English).

Lebanon needs to urgently decrease its energy dependence on fossil fuels and switch to cleaner renewable energies (RE) to prevent foreign influence in the country’s affairs argued Stefan Schurig, director for Climate Energy for the World Future Council. Schurig was speaking on Monday at the American University of Beirut (AUB) on invitation from the Issam Fares Policy Institute.”Renewable energy makes a country safer because it makes it independent of others,” Schurig said.

Lebanon relies entirely on the import of fuel and diesel from abroad. The full vulnerability of Lebanon’s energy infrastructure was clearly demonstrated when Lebanon’s power stations were bombed by Israel during the 2006 summer war, leaving the country with only one week’s supply of oil.

Schurig emphasized that not only would investing in RE boost the country’s energy security but would also lead to an increase in jobs and a better and healthier environment. Until now Lebanon has close to zero reliance on any renewable energy source and continues to suffer from electricity cuts and other energy related problems.

As director for Climate Energy, Schurig works with policy makers to implement greener energy policies in different countries around the world. Schurig also said that one of the best ways to bring about change in energy security policies is to work within the political system. “In Lebanon the parliament exists and you should hold it responsible for these things,” he said.

Though Lebanon does not have an abundance of oil and gas reserves unlike other countries in the Middle East, it still has a large potential for a RE market. “The best place for solar energy is in your country here,” said Schurig, who also pointed to Lebanon’s location by the Mediterranean Sea as a great opportunity to harvest wind energy.

However the director of the Lebanese Solar Energy Society (LSES), Chafic Abisaid, questioned how soon certain types of RE could start benefiting Lebanon in the near future. 

As an example Abisaid pointed to the fact that no detailed studies of wind energy have taken place, such as mapping out wind patterns and possible locations for wind farms, “We don’t [even] know where we have wind,” he said.

Despite this Schurig insisted that as a result of modern technology, it could take as little as a half a year to a year to map out such studies.

“There is a huge abundance of solar energy … I think it would be possible to cover the primary energy demand by 100 percent with RE in Lebanon [in the long term],” Schurig said.

A major theme of Schurig’s speech was how Lebanon and the Middle East could learn from the European experience in implementing RE. As an example Schurig talked extensively about his home country of Germany, where successful energy policies have tripled the country’s RE electrical output to 14 percent in only a decade.

However, the question of whether such success with RE can be seen in the near future in the politically uncertain climate of Lebanon was raised by many participants.

But professor Danyel Reiche of AUB, who also specializes in renewable energy policy, said that when it comes to solar energy production, not only does there not need to be any government participation, but an investment of $600 is enough to generate warm water for private households.

“Due to the good geographical conditions, especially solar thermal use for warm water production is already economical in Lebanon, and the investment pays off in less than two years,” he said.

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