Karim Khayat Leads Lebanon’s Growing Solar Power Industry
As Chief Executive Officer of Middle East Power, Karim Khayat heads a pioneering power company that has become a growing figure in the global energy industry. Under Karim Tahsin Al-Khayyat’s leadership, to revamp energy production, Middle East Power provides a diverse range of services.
Middle East Power is dedicated to creating job opportunities in the communities it serves while prioritizing eco-friendly and energy-efficient projects to reduce its carbon footprint. This article will look at how power shortages in Lebanon have triggered a huge uptick in interest in solar power.
As electricity becomes an increasingly sporadic commodity, Lebanese consumers who can afford it are turning to alternative energy sources in their droves. In Broummana, Lebanon, for more than a year now, blackouts have forced residents to find coping strategies. With electricity only coming on at random times during the day, many residents have been forced to start doing their laundry and charge all of their appliances after midnight. Here, electricity supplied by the state-owned supplier Electricité du Liban has dwindled. In other regions of the country, power has been shut off completely.
Privately owned diesel generators are doing a roaring trade, providing power for many for up to 22 hours a day. However, soaring demand combined with a lack of imports has triggered fuel scarcity in Lebanon today, leading to a major hike in fuel prices and a black market selling hoarded fuels at rates most Lebanese people simply cannot afford. The Lebanese government reduced subsidies on diesel fuel, as well as moved to allow direct importation as part of efforts to alleviate scarcity, although astronomical fuel price increases continue.
Against this backdrop, energy experts have seen a tide of interest in renewables throughout the country. In a country that boasts circa 300 days of sunshine each year, thousands of Lebanese consumers who can afford it are turning to solar power, enabling them to gain independence from an incredibly expensive yet unreliable power grid.
In Lebanon, as in many countries around the world, demand for solar power is becoming so great that it is becoming increasingly difficult to source components, with customers forced to wait as long as three months before their systems can be installed.
Carla Nassab works as a program officer for the United Nations Development program. The organization is currently working on several projects across Lebanon. Nassab explains that, from a residential perspective, it is definitely a boom. However, she points out that it is not just residential, but everywhere. Industries are increasingly looking into solar energy, and other sources too, since relying on the grid has simply become too unpredictable and expensive.
You can also check out another blog on Home Hydroelectric Power Kits here.
