Beirut[Lebanon], May 6: Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayyad on Friday signed contracts with 11 private sector companies to build solar power plants with a capacity of 15 megawatts per station, the National News Agency reported.
Fayyad said solar energy generated from the 11 power plants would be sold at different prices, with the Bekaa region's power plants charging 5.7 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour, and power plants in the rest of the country charging U.S. 6.27 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Fayyad said the prices are cheaper than the power produced by the state-run Elecricite Du Liban, which costs 17 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour.
Lack of electricity remains a chronic problem in Lebanon, as households bear daily intermittent power cuts that last for around 20 hours a day.
The shortage has been exacerbated by the shortage of U.S. dollars, which limits the country's capacity to import fuel for the operation of power stations.
Moreover, service prices of private generators increased tremendously after fuel subsidies were removed amid the country's financial crisis.
Source: Xinhua