Collaboration efforts: TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy expand partnership to solar power in Lebanon

Report by Bassam Abou Zeid, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

The partnership between TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy in Lebanon, which initially focused on offshore oil and gas exploration, is now extending to solar power production. 

Prime Minister Najib Mikati received a joint letter from the two companies on April 21 expressing their intent to produce 100 megawatts of solar power.
 
The Energy Ministry is currently preparing a legal and technical response to the French-Qatari offer. 

The response will detail the necessary legal and technical aspects required to grant the consortium a license to produce 100 megawatts of solar power. Once finalized, this response will be delivered to TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy to facilitate the next steps.

In this context, TotalEnergies is negotiating with various companies that obtained licenses from the Lebanese government in May 2022 to produce solar power. These 11 companies were licensed to produce a total of 165 megawatts, with each company averaging around 15 megawatts. This additional capacity is expected to increase electricity supply by about two hours during peak solar production.

Sources affirm that some of these companies are currently seeking financing to kick-start their projects, and TotalEnergies may propose purchasing licenses from them to initiate its 100-megawatt solar power project.

However, the sources revealed that the 11 companies have now become 10.

Additionally, CMA CGM, a French company and one of the initial 11 licensed firms, has acquired a license from another company. 

This acquisition allows CMA CGM to set up two solar power plants with a combined capacity of 30 megawatts. The company plans to complete the necessary procedures within a few months to begin installing the plants in the towns of Joun in Chouf and Kfifan in Batroun.