Tender for wind power project coming soon

Private firms will be allowed to sell energy to EDL

A total of 23 local and foreign companies have expressed their interest in building wind farms to generate electricity, the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) said on Tuesday (October 16).

The plan is for a project to generate 60MW of electricity from wind that would then be sold to Electricité Du Liban (EDL).

A technical committee comprising experts from the MoEW, the EDL, and the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) will assess the applications. “The committee has already been formed, it comprises ten technical experts from the three parties,” said Ziad Zein, public relations officer at LCEC. The committee will assess the applications filed by the firms. Qualified companies will be shortlisted for the tender that would be launched later. “The committee will file its report to the Minister of Energy and Water, who will decide the next step to be done,” Zein said. The MoEW will announce a public tender and raise the issue to Cabinet based on the committee’s report.

Cabinet’s approval is needed for launching any project involving energy production. MoEW plans to sign a contract with the winning firm by early 2013. The electricity law does not allow direct private sector involvement in energy production, however it does not prohibit leasing power generated by private firms. “Law 462 has not been amended to allow private firms to produce energy, but after signing the contract for leasing energy from power-generating vessels, the MoEW found that it could apply a similar method for leasing renewable energy from the private sector,” said Zein.

Albert Khoury, chairman of Hawa Akkar, a firm specialized in wind energy projects, said the ministry has taken a bold step by inviting private ventures. But, he said, wind energy initiatives should be allowed to produce a lot more than 60MW.

According to Zein, the possibility of building more than one 60 MW plant depends on the number of companies that fit the project’s strict technical and financial requirements. “For instance it is widely known that building a 60 MW wind farm costs some $120 million on average, so the financial capacity of the firm is one of the conditions.” The experience of firms in the field of wind energy production is another requirement. Other specifications are related to the location of the project, the land on which it would be built, and its proximity to the EDL’s power grid.