28 ventures qualify for solar farm bids

The Ministry of Energy and Water has qualified 28 joint ventures to bid for the construction of 12 solar farms across the country.

The renewable energy projects are intended to produce 15 megawatts (MW) each, to yield a total of 180 MW.

These companies were shortlisted after 42 companies expressed interest in participating in the country’s first privately-generated solar power bids.

The Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation is currently assessing the technical merits of the 28 proposals. The top five companies in each governorate will then be assessed according to their financial bids.

Around 40 percent of the proposals were for the regions of Bekaa and Hermel, 13 percent for Mount Lebanon, ten percent for the North and Akkar, and the rest for the South and Nabatieh.

Major local firms that participated in the bids include Byblos Advanced Energy, the company that requested a power generation permit to cover the Jbeil area four years ago.

They also include real estate contractor MAN Enterprise and developer Saifi Modern. Other notable participants include Staunch Machinery, and CTC, distributor of Samsung products.

The solar bid attracted companies from a number of countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Denmark, India, and China.