WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

3.5.6 Lebanon
Joy Balta, Lebanese American University, Lebanon; Kai
Whiting, International Center on Small Hydro Power
Key facts
Population 4,140,289 1
Area 10,400 km 2
Climate Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet
winters with hot, dry summers;
Lebanon mountains experience heavy
winter snows.
Topography Four main geographical regions running
north to south parallel to the
Mediterranean - the coastal plain, the
Lebanon mountain range, the Bekaa
Valley and the Anti-Lebanon range.
Rain
Pattern
Average annual rainfall (1965-1999)
along the coastal zone ranges between
540 mm and 1,110 mm, whereas the
annual average precipitation (rain and
snow) over the mountain area ranges
between 937 mm and 1,854 mm for the
same period. 2
Electricity sector overview
Lebanon lacks all types of major traditional energy
sources, including fossil fuels. 3 Accordingly, 99 per
cent of its primary energy needs is met through the
main electricity company, Electricité du Liban (EDL) by
importing around US$500 million worth of fuel each
year to generate the electricity needed. 4 Renewable
energy currently provides a minor contribution to the
energy balance in Lebanon, its share is less than 5 per
cent of primary energy and less than 10 per cent of
the electricity production.
Hydropower is the only renewable source used in
electricity generation in Lebanon (figure 1), although it
has the potential to benefit from other resources,
particularly solar and wind. 3 Electricity, thus, is mostly
generated from thermal power plants, with a limited
contribution from ageing hydropower installations.
The power supply capacity of 2,100 MW is made up of
1,900 MW thermal power and 200 MW hydropower. 5
Hydropower can, however, be as low as 80 MW in a
dry year. 6 Imports are currently provided by Egypt and
in the past, provided by the Syrian Arab Republic
before the outbreak of civil unrest. 7
The civil war that broke out in 1975 caused vast
destruction to the country’s infrastructure. The war
ceased in 1991, at that point the Lebanese people had
adapted to the absence of stable electricity supply and
have been using private diesel generators.
Between the 1990s and the end of 2000s, successive
governments failed to reform the sector and invest in
infrastructure. In 2011, the Government approved a
policy paper on the electricity sector prepared by the
Minister of Power and Water. It states that the total
energy demand in 2009 was 15,000 GWh, EDL
supplied 11,522 GWh out of the original demand from
different sources. 8 9
Hydro 4.5%
Import 7.5%
88.0%
Thermal
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Figure 1 Electricity generation in Lebanon
Sources: Habib 8 and Lebanon, Ministry of Energy and
Water 9
Note: Data from 2009. Thermal includes electricity
generated by heavy fuel oil-fired steam-turbines and
diesel-fired Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power plants
Lebanon is famous for its water resources in an
otherwise water deficient region. 10 The Lebanese
topography and its relatively short rainy period cause
a large volume of water losses without it being put to
use. Lebanon receives 8,600 million m 3 of
precipitation; however, 50 per cent is lost through
evapotranspiration, surface water flows (8 per cent)
to neighbouring countries and into underground
water (12 per cent), leaving around 2,600 million m 3
surface and groundwater potentially available to the
country. 10
The installed capacity of all hydro plants is 274 MW
but the actual generation capacity is 190 MW. 10
Lebanon used to generate 60-70 per cent of its power
from hydropower sources prior to the 1960s. In 1974,
41.5 per cent of the total generated electricity was
hydropower compared to 4.5 per cent in 2009. 9 A
research conducted by Central Administration for
Statistics (CAS) reported that 5-12 per cent of
electricity production in Lebanon comes from
hydropower depending on rainfall and thermal plants
productivity. 10
Small hydropower sector overview and potential
There are nine small hydropower plants producing
electricity in Lebanon, with a total installed capacity of
30.8 MW (figure 2 and table 1). 10 Future small
hydropower sites are mentioned in table 2, with a
total additional capacity of 29.5 MW.
SHP installed
capacity
SHP potential
30.8 MW
0 20 40 60
60.3 MW
Figure 2 Small hydropower capacities in Lebanon
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