[fouadf]

Hi, I live in Lebanon

We're still getting electricity from the privately owned generators. The main grid has always had shortage, it never provided 24/7, the reliance has always been on the privately owned generators.

Due to the severe fuel shortages since the beginning of the year, the main grid provided very little hours, less than 2 hours per day in many cases.

The privately owned generators haven't been able to keep up either, we're getting power cuts for several hours during the day, every day. And the fees are increasing.

Here's a rundown of the current situation

- fuel is rare, queues at stations are horrible, it takes up to 6 hours to get some, violence and accidents there has killed many people

- fuel prices have increased 4x since the beginning of this year

- currency inflation from $1 = 1,500 LBP to $1=19,000 since late 2019, max reached 23,000, could reach more

[Gil-galad]

How about the market for private solar energy systems? Must be experiencing a massive boom

[bellyfullofbac]

Lebanon, "massive boom". Poor choice of words. Or an accidental darkly humourous pun.

[fouadf]

It's starting to kick off, several households are implementing it, it costs $5k+ here which given the current situation isn't the top priority But honestly I do hope we reach a point where private solar and wind take over the main grid and the generators

[londons_explore]

But $10 solar panels enough to charge a phone and laptop presumably are in widespread use?

[fouadf]

Can you please show me an example product? personally I wired my router to a power bank so the internet stays up

[londons_explore]

This kind of thing:

US $9.50 5V 1200mA 6Watt Battery Charger USB port DC 5.5*2.1 Charge Regulators Solar Panel 6W https://a.aliexpress.com/_u842IG

Probably won't be sufficient for a router, but it would charge a battery bank or phone pretty well (make sure it's angled 30 degrees south, and use a usb battery bank between it and the phone because the phone usually won't adjust the charging current up and down as clouds come over). For laptops, use a power bank with a laptop 19v output.

[dogma1138]

International transactions are pretty hard in Lebanon the government constantly puts restrictions on dollar accounts and other accounts that can process international transfers.

Many payments services are also unavailable in Lebanon for various reasons.

If you are in a position to order things from Alibaba or eBay you are already pretty well off and anything sold locally would be sold at a very steep markup.

[toomuchtodo]

Hello! I have been involved in system design and logistics (freight and customs) for getting solar to some folks in Lebanon over the past six months. Based on your on the ground experience, if you have time, I would be interested in your thoughts on what would be the most valuable efforts to get household solar (not a panel or two) to more people. Is the primary constraint financial ability?

[fouadf]

Cost is the most important factor, after that comes finding a space, most people live in buildings in the city, one roof won't be enough for all the apartments. Houses are usually in villages.

People are getting interested by seeing it work for their neighbors and friends, it's still new and people want see some garuntee for such a long term investment.

How would you describe the income level of the clients you shipped solar panels to? Were they building a new house?

[toomuchtodo]

I can’t speak to income levels, but the budget frequently communicated is ~$5k, which covers a 3.8kw inverter and just under 5kw in solar panel modules. Wiring and racking is typically sourced locally.

I will optimize my sourcing for cost. Thank you for the feedback.