Interview with Mrs. Radia Sedaoui. Chief of the Energy Section at ESCWA
What type of adaptive measures the company / project needed? What were the lessons of this period? A challenge commonly faced in Lebanon is the lack of adequate and reliable data and the need for the tedious process
"REGEND is currently preparing for the implementation of six small-scale RE field projects in rural Akkar"
of collecting data through field surveys in different sectors.
and transmission infrastructure.
ESCWA, through the REGEND project, faced this challenge
What is the status of your current project(s) and investments
during the design phase of the small-scale renewable energy
planned for 2020-2021? Which are the advantages of your
(RE) field projects in rural Akkar which took more time than
business and products, going forward?
expected. The low quality and the frequency of electricity
REGEND is currently preparing for the implementation of six small-
rationing and blackout, especially in Akkar, required a more
scale RE field projects in rural Akkar, namely Akkar Al-Atika and
sophisticated solar photovoltaic (PV) system design which
Chaqdouf. The beneficiaries of the projects are the agri-food, the
incorporates batteries and splits the electricity generated
beekeeping, and the agricultural supplies cooperatives in Akkar Al-
between feeding the loads and charging the batteries. This
Atika and the Live Akkar organization in Chaqdouf. The projects
required more data collection from the loads. Moreover, the
consist of on-grid and off-grid solar photovoltaic systems, solar
complexity of the electrical setup in the targeted buildings and
water heating systems, and energy efficient lighting renovation
the interconnection of the buildings with private generators
which will greatly reduce energy consumption and cost. Equally
also necessitated the collection of more data so that the
important, REGEND supplied the aforementioned entities with
system's size and modes of operation can be fully optimized
productive equipment and capacity-building trainings to broaden
for sustainable operation.
their skills and improve and enhance their income-generating
Another challenge pertaining to data collection in Lebanon
activities.
reflects the quality and interpretation of this data. For example,
The harmonized combination of the field projects, the productive
while electricity access shows 100% availability all over
equipment, and the capacity-building trainings were customized to
Lebanon, this data point does not really reflect the country's
match the rural beneficiaries’ activities so that they are utilized in
planned and unplanned service disruptions due to the highly
the most effective manner to reduce time, effort, and cost and hence
inadequate infrastructure and insufficient generation capacity
increase productivity, efficiency, and revenue. This integrated
