Wednesday June 01, 2022, As part of the United Nations Development Programme’s “Post-Blast Response in Karantina –”, a solar photovoltaic system and solar water heaters were installed at the Beirut Fire Fighting Brigades facility to support the institution in overcoming energy-related challenges and ensure continuous service delivery. UNDP is committed to support the green recovery of Lebanon following the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, in particular in the area of Karantina, where over 200 solar water heaters were installed along with 80 energy-efficient electric water heaters in damaged households and 14 solar street lights in sensitive areas.

The Beirut Fire Brigade is one of the oldest fire departments in Lebanon dating back to the 1920s. Being at the forefront of disasters, the most recent being the devastating Beirut port explosion, the facility is faced with daily operational challenges that hinders service support to the public.

The facility was recently running mostly on a diesel generator given the extensive power cuts which proved to be unsustainable given the increase in fuel prices and shortages of fuel. With the installation of a sustainable and low-cost source of energy solution, the facility has now access to 24 hours of uninterrupted electricity as well as the availability of hot water throughout the year.

Since its operation in December 2021, the solar system has been covering 88% of Beirut Fire Fighting Brigades electricity needs, with the national electricity grid covering the remaining 12%. The estimated savings during this period exceeded 4,000 USD in addition to more than 30 tons of CO2 emissions.

UNDP Resident Representative in Lebanon Melanie Hauenstein visited Beirut Fire Fighting Brigades and met with Fire brigades commander Colonel Maher Ajouz in the presence of Beirut Governor Mr. Marwan Abboud.

“The installed PV system and Solar water heaters have immensely benefited the fire brigades in the current country crisis of electricity and fuel. UNDP has secured the supply of electricity and hot water through renewable energy which helped the firefighter officers, sergeants and all members to operate, equip and prepare themselves for any required intervention. This will help us to continue our work with success in addition to the financial savings resulted from shutdown our diesel generators “Stated Colonel Maher Ajouz, Fire brigades commander.

” Lebanon’s sustainable environmental recovery is high on our list of priorities and this includes our support to the Beirut Fire Fighting Brigades Facility. With people at the centre of our approach to recovery, we hope that the uninterrupted services of the Fire Fighting Brigade will serve the area efficiently and will pave the way to more shifts by public facilities into renewable energy solutions and allow them to service the people of Beirut“ stated Melanie Hauenstein, UNDP Resident Representative.

Since 2007, UNDP has been supporting the Lebanese Government and communities in developing and implementing a national sustainable energy strategy and mitigating climate change, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. UNDP has been installing different types of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies particularly solar water heaters (SWH), solar photovoltaic (PV), solar street lighting and solar home systems, micro-wind and biomass across Lebanon specifically in municipalities, public schools, public hospitals, host communities and industries.

For more information, please contact

UNDP — Lebanon | Rana Moughabghab | rana.moughabghab@undp.org | +961 81 146841