Solar panels atop residential buildings with the Beirut skyline in the background, pictured here in January 2024. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — On Wednesday, amid the second wave of Hezbollah communication devices detonating, reports emerged of solar energy systems also exploding in several areas of Lebanon, sparking further concern among residents for their safety.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been ongoing since October along the Lebanese-Israeli border, and in what is seen as the largest breach of security in Hezbollah's history, hand-held radios used by the party were simultaneously detonated, following similar explosions of the group's pagers the day before. Analysts believe that the pagers and walkie-talkies were packed with small amounts of explosive material next to their lithium-ion batteries, and were later detonated using a remote signal. More than 30 people were killed by the two waves of explosions, and thousands were injured, around 300 critically.
According to the state-run National News Agency, solar energy systems also exploded in homes in several areas of Beirut and the south, including Nabatieh. However, these reports remain singular and unconfirmed.
Did solar energy systems really explode?
Philippe Khoury, CEO of the company Me-green, which provides end-to-end renewable energy solutions, and Pierre Khoury, president of the government’s Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), the national energy agency, told L'Orient Today that they did not receive any reports of solar energy systems exploding.
Georges Abboud, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Owner of Earth Technologies said that despite that, a lot of clients called them following the incidents to ask them about the measures they must take to protect themselves.
According to Abboud, the lithium phosphate used in solar systems can cause a fire but does not explode. He believes that what probably happened in Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon, on Wednesday was not the solar system itself that exploded but rather a walkie-talkie device near it, adding that he did not hear of other systems exploding in other areas or getting hacked.
"A solar system can not explode unless there are explosives in it," he said.
He also said that it is highly improbable that the systems were hacked especially since a hacker needs to work on each system separately.
The solar panel industry was once part of a rush spurred by the country’s electricity crisis, which started in 2019 following the collapse of the economy. Solar panels are now a common sight in cityscapes across the country.
Ziad Makari, information minister in Lebanon's caretaker government, told Reuters panic was to be expected, noting that the attack was "a new type of crime to the Lebanese" and that it had struck people at home, at work and during their daily lives.
"There are many rumours - an intercom blew up, a solar power (system) blew up, a television blew up, a smart phone blew up". "There are a lot of lies ... a lot of fake news and this doesn't help at all," he said to Reuters.
Safety measures just in case
Philippe and Pierre Khoury cannot confirm whether solar energy systems can explode as part of a premeditated attack. However, they suggest that if people are worried, they can take extra precautions by disconnecting the solar energy system from the internet.
"This greatly limits the possibility of someone interfering in the system and playing with the parameters to provoke an incident," Philippe Khoury said.
Solar panels are typically connected to a photovoltaic inverter, which converts sunlight into electricity to then be used by the house's electrical network. This inverter can be connected to Wi-Fi, to facilitate the remote monitoring of information regarding the performance of the panel systems on an application or a website.
"We should not panic," Pierre Khoury assured, adding that removing the system's SIM card, which connects it to the web, is a simple security measure that can limit the risk of hacking.