Beirut hosts 3rd edition of Lebanese Solar Week

BEIRUT — The third edition of the Lebanese Solar Week (LISW 2025) will take place from Sept. 24 to 26 at Seaside Arena (formerly Biel) in Beirut, under the patronage of Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi and with the presence of Industry Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury.

Bringing together local, regional and international companies alongside experts, innovators and official institutions in the renewable energy sector, this event aims to showcase the latest innovations in the field.

"We are focusing on highlighting the solar energy market, which in Lebanon has attracted over $1.3 billion in investments and reached 1,300 megawatts of alternative energy by 2024. With this accelerated growth, the sector is expected to soon surpass the two-billion-dollar mark," said Elias Khoury, the event organizer. The event coincides with the launch of a national campaign for household energy savings by the Energy and Information Ministries, in partnership with the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation and the "Italian program for energy-efficient home appliances."

Speaking Thursday during the campaign launch, Saddi recalled that "the building sector represents the largest share of energy consumption in Lebanon, making sustainable construction the key solution to lowering consumers' energy bills." The minister concluded, "Public awareness is a determining factor in driving change in individual behaviors."

Private generators, technically illegal, have been tolerated for years, with Lebanese citizens largely relying on them to compensate for the country's power production shortfall. Additionally, individual solar panel installations have surged since the crisis that began in 2019 — a period during which the already limited capacity of Électricité du Liban was nearly wiped out, as the public supplier could no longer rely on Treasury advances to fund its fuel purchases.