The American University of Beirut (AUB) has launched its first Photovoltaic power plant to mitigate the high environmental and economic costs of electricity generation through combustion of diesel. Starting with a solar panel system that is now operational over on building rooftops of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (FEA), the University intends to extend this project over the entire campus to save an estimated $500,000 per year in operating cost and achieve an annual reduction of 1,500 tons of CO2 emissions.

 

Solar energy has come to the fore as the energy source that offers the best chance of solving the climate change problem. Through this project and subsequent phases, AUB will be contributing to the fulfillment of the national commitment of having 12% of Lebanon’s electricity generated from renewable resources by 2020. The global COP21 climate conference held in Paris last year emphasized the solar role in the transition away from the current carbon-intensive energy system. This urged swift action by the solar industry and the photovoltaic system has increasingly become a desirable option.