The solar energy market declines by 80 percent

Under the title "Prices in Lebanon cheaper than China: Solar energy market declines by 80 percent," the newspaper "Al-Akhbar" reported:

The import of solar panels in 2023 has decreased by 80 percent compared to 2022. The value of what was imported this year did not exceed $100 million, equivalent to about 20,000 tons of panels, compared to over 83,000 tons in 2022, with a value of nearly half a billion dollars.

The decline also affected accompanying equipment such as batteries. In contrast to the import of 106,000 tons of batteries worth $305 million in 2022, Lebanon imported around 15,000 tons this year, worth $61 million.

Some owners of companies operating in the solar energy sector attribute the significant decline in imports to the fact that "the poor do not have solar energy, and the affluent have installed it." With a sharp drop in demand for installing solar energy generation systems in homes, "major traders remain, while those urgently involved in the business left."