QatarEnergy has reached an agreement with France’s TotalEnergies to jointly develop a solar power plant in Lebanon, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said in Beirut on Friday, October 16.
Sheikh Mohammed described the plant as an initial step within a broader energy cooperation framework agreed by the two countries, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported. He said the aim was a major investment project that would benefit the Lebanese economy and the Qatari companies and entities taking part.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the two governments were close to agreeing a joint project to rehabilitate, develop and modernize Lebanon’s electricity generation infrastructure under a build-operate-transfer model.
“Qatar will finance, implement and operate the electricity project, without the Lebanese Treasury bearing any prior investment cost,” Salam said, according to The National.
The two prime ministers spoke at a joint press conference after talks that covered energy, investment and electricity infrastructure. Sheikh Mohammed said the project had been explored for years and that he was optimistic it was nearing the implementation phase.
Salam said the two sides discussed a framework agreement for Qatar’s contribution to Lebanon’s energy sector when they met in New York last month. Government and technical teams have since moved from considering options to defining the basis of a comprehensive project, he said.
No capacity, cost or timeline for the solar plant or the wider electricity project was announced.
TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy first proposed a 100-megawatt solar plant to the Lebanese government in a letter in 2023, L’Orient Today reported in May 2024. QatarEnergy joined TotalEnergies and Italy’s Eni in January 2023 in the consortium exploring Lebanon’s offshore Blocks 4 and 9.
Lebanon’s state utility, Electricite du Liban, is unable to provide more than a few hours of power a day, The National reported. Reliance on imported diesel to run private generators has pushed up energy bills for households and businesses.
Sheikh Mohammed also met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and army commander General Rodolphe Haykal during the visit, QNA said.
