Uploaded on 2015-11-02 by Jdebenito

Lebanon has been a country severely damaged by several war episodes in the last years as can be seen in the picture (Beirut south, 2006). As a consequence of this events and probably because of a very particular Constitution, efficient Government is often not in place. One of the main consequences of Government inaction, and to a certain degree the lack of incentive for additional private investments, energy is not easily available to the extent it is needed. Practically all sources of energy are imported, mainly refined oil products - as there are not transformation plants in the country-, and to a much lesser extent, coal and electricity. Despite that, regular, up to 12 hours/day, energy black outs from the network occurs. Private and industrial elements need to rely on generators (expensive system!), also running on imported fuels. There are at least two local sources of energy that should be promoted, both by the Government and private institutions, that require positive action: (1) Hydro energy. There is sufficient rain and snow de-icing potential to exhaust this source of energy, that already occurs but in limited form. The Government, primarily, should sponsor additional projects. (2) Co-processing of (all kind of) waste. To give an example, despite the lack of large industrial tissue, there is a relatively large cement industry, that has been unable, despite tremendous efforts (showing best practices, sponsoring seminars, ...) to treat the waste of the 2006 war (that includes oil polluted land, concrete from demolition, ...). Waste is still around. During the last months there have been many demonstrations complaining for the lack of solution to the problem of municipal solid waste and the exhaustion of land filling spaces. MSW is another potential source of energy that is neglected. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14464683109055834.jpg