TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN SELECT LOCAL COMMUNITIES
IN THE DISTRICT OF ZGHARTA, NORTH OF LEBANON

Technical description

Lebanon generates around 1,500 MW of electricity, well short of the current demand of about 2,300MW. Local Authorities spend substantial amounts of their budgets on energy bills for providing public services such as street lighting. A clear example is the communities of Ardeh, Harf Ardeh, Beit Awkar and Beit Obeid in North Lebanon that pay up to 20% of their annual budget on street lighting. The growing population, poor infrastructure, and inefficient energy usage at the household level prompted Rene Moawad Foundation (RMF) to come up with this project.

RMF aims to support the LA of these four developing communities in one of the poorest and most underserved regions in the country, by promoting and implementing sustainable development actions to optimize energy use both at the public and household levels with a focus on underprivileged households to optimize the consumption of energy.

This project targets directly the local authority, and local community consisting of 4,000 individuals with a focus on underprivileged groups and indirectly up to 200 similar local authorities in Lebanon with 400,000 residents. The project will set a model for local authorities’ work by: adopting energy policies for energy efficiency at the community level, reducing energy budget expenditures and designing innovative energy solutions at the local level.

Objectives

Global Objective: RMF will support the LA technically and financially to foster the sustainable growth of the rapidly expanding communities selected as target areas

Specific Objectives:

Energy efficiency integrated within LA strategic development and planning.
Local Authorities are transformed to catalyst advisors, motivators and advocates of energy paradigm.

Expected results

Sustainable energy strategy developed and integrated within the LA.
Issue municipal policies and decree for new constructions setting minimum energy performance standards leading to 40% minimum consumption reduction
Achieve 15% reduction in the LA's yearly budget from energy saving
Design of new LA building integrating innovative energy efficiency systems
Install photovoltaic (PV) street lights in 6 main areas around the 4 towns
LA staff have enhanced skills to enforce LA sustainable energy policies and provide guidance to the 1,250 local households
300 low-income homes benefit from retrofit package saving 30% in energy consumption.
Up to 10,000 individuals have increased awareness on sustainable energy
A booklet and an online portal are developed based on the pilot experience of the project and disseminated to 200 local and national stakeholders

Partners/Stakeholders

Financing Scheme

Cost of the project : 1 043 972 Euros
European Union : 835 472 Euros (80.03%)
Rene Moawad Foundation: 208 500 Euro (19.97%)

Planning

Duration of realization of the project : 30 months

Contact persons

Mr. Habib Lattouf | Mayor of Ardeh Municipality | E: habib.lattouf@hotmail.com | P: +961 35 80 340
Mr. Nabil Moawad | General Director of Rene Moawad Foundation | E: nmoawad@rmf.org.lb | P: +961 161 33 67