On 31 October 2017, Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon – SPNL, team visited Liban Cables Factory in Nahr-Ibrahim.
The purpose of the visit was to honour the Chairman and President of Liban Cables, Mr. Bassem El-Hibri and the team of Liban Cables, in recognition to the solar power plant installation in the factory that will ease the pressure on the national utility.
SPNL team was composed of Ramzi Saidi – SPNL President, Shawki Saidi – SPNL Treasurer, and Assad Serhal – Director General of SPNL.
Liban Cables’ 601 kilowatt-peak solar power plant was co-financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Liban Cables through the Central Bank’s NEEREA loan program, implemented by the UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Water.
The project consists of over 1,908 solar (photovoltaic) panels generating approximately 938,000 kilowatt-hours per year, contributing to significant cost savings at Liban Cables as well as a subsequent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 751 tons per year. The GEF-funded UNDP DREG Project has been involved in the design and implementation of nearly 2.6 MW of solar electricity projects spread over 9 industrial, commercial, and residential facilities.
The installation of this large solar power plant will help Liban Cables save 8% on their diesel bills which equates to 187,000 US dollars per year and which will also result in reducing the annual greenhouse gas emissions by 751 tons or the equivalent weight of 375 cars.
SPNL President Ramzi Saidi said that society is proud to honor Liban cable and its visionary president Bassem Al-Hibri for their pioneering spirit in adopting environmentally friendly systems throughout their production and business facilities. SPNL will be seeking other responsible individuals or organizations to honour for their valuable service to environmental and human well-being”.
Chairman and President of Liban Cables, Mr. Bassem El-Hibri emphasized on the importance of this project in exploiting the solar energy to generate clean and free electricity and saving fuel consumption, hoping that other Lebanese industrials adopt solar energy. He also expressed his willingness to provide advice and expertise when needed.
The event was followed by a walk-through in Liban Cables, observing the solar installation from the roof and receiving a technical briefing on the system.
