CSP potential in Lebanon: A feasibility study based on the parabolic trough & Stirling dish technologies

With the rapid development of the economy, Lebanon´s appetite for electricity is growing continuously. The current fossil fuel based electricity has caused severe environmental degradation and energy shortage. Lebanon should make use of renewable energy resources to help transform its economy into a low-carbon one. Constructing parabolic trough & Stirling dish solar thermal power plants in Lebanon, will contribute in this transformation, reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, and reduce CO2 emissions. The parabolic trough & Stirling dish solar power plants can provide scientific basis for future large scale application and industrialization evaluation in Lebanon. This paper includes a feasibility study for constructing a parabolic trough power plant as well as a prototype 5 MW Stirling dish plant which are to be located in the Zahle Plain. An available land area of 1,000,000 m² (250 Acres) suitable for such an establishment was found in cooperation with “Electricité de Zahle” (EDZ). Since the parabolic trough technology is the most commercially proven, the major part of this paper describes the 40 MW parabolic trough power plant studied.