CEDRO 5 PROJECT

CEDRO V 

CEDRO V 

 

Summary

The United Nations Development Programme CEDRO 5 project, co-funded by the European Union, aims at working on several sustainable energy activities in cooperation with the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI), The Lebanon Green Building Council (LGBC), and the International Renewable Energy Credits (I-REC) Institution.

The European Union (EU) is encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in Lebanon to support a clean energy transition. The overall aim of the EU is to address job creation and growth in support of Lebanon’s economy, in line with the first priority sector of the Single Support Framework for EU Support to Lebanon (2017-2020), while supporting Climate Change Mitigation in Lebanon. The specific objective is to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation in support of Lebanon’s clean energy transition and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the energy sector. 

CEDRO 5 project aims at enhancing innovation, entrepreneurship and research (Activity 1), assisting in technology transfer and the creation of new value chains in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector  (Activity 2), supporting and initiating enabling policy (Activity 3), training and capacity building (Activity 4), and targeting effective awareness initiatives on RE and EE (Activity 5).

Background

CEDRO 5 aims at assisting the Government of Lebanon to reach its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RE/EE). It also aims at assisting Lebanon in fostering growth for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and creating jobs from the momentum of existing value chains in RE/EE and creating new momentum in new RE/EE value chains. Technology transfer is done through the pilot projects – in both industrial and commercial sectors – demonstrating and disseminating different technologies / solutions in Lebanese context to support their commercial uptake, thereby creation of new jobs. 

Major achievements

Overall, CEDRO 5 will undertake the following five interlinked main activities with 5 activities: 

Activity 1: Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Research

  1. Create an ‘Energy Hub’ with a local incubator to foster collaboration between the available initiatives and stakeholders for the clean energy transition in Lebanon, 
  2. Support green start-ups and entrepreneurs for clean energy transitions through synergies created with the main players in the energy sector,
  3. Establish ‘scale-up’ mentoring for selected local RE and EE companies to grow their businesses and introduce innovation to their operations, and;
  4. Support women entrepreneurship and employment in the sector Activity

Activity 2: Technology Transfer

  1. Advancing commercial-scale solar PV with storage, variable drive gensets, and modern control
  2. Advancing the local ‘ARZ’ green building certification through a free and new online portal and through paid official certification processes,
  3. New value chain established for solar thermal and advancing existing energy efficiency for industry/manufacturing,
  4. New value chain established for biogas applications,
  5. Advancing SEACAP applications through direct interventions (in coordination with Clima-MED project team), and further support for innovative financing and regulatory

Activity 3: Policy initiatives and enabling environment

  1. Continue assistance to national utility to advance net metering and virtual community net metering, and;
  2. Establish the full innovative process for ‘renewable energy credits’ for Lebanon that has the potential to significantly accelerate RE uptake 

Activity 4: Vocational training and capacity building

  1. Workshops for general professionals and municipalities on all Activity 2 implementations, and
  2. Online courses for academic and professional participants for all implemented technologies Activity 5: Awareness raising & donor visibility

A combination of actions and materials to promote effective awareness on the benefits of the applications outlined above, and to ensure donor visibility in all activities. 

Project outcome

Overall objective of this project is to improve Lebanon’s energy security through the support to the country’s energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets while creating new employment opportunities and increasing women employment in the said sectors (EE & RE). Specific objectives of the project are to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the EE & RE sectors through technology transfer, i.e. advancing existing and creating new value chains, assisting in the scale-ups of existing EE & RE companies and ensuring the sustainability of knowledge transfer.

The project’s targets are as follows:

  • 5 successful start-ups in EE/RE enabled
  • 5 scale-ups in EE/RE 
  • 2 new value chains created (solar thermal for industries and Biogas for industries)
  • 2 value chains enhanced (Solar PV with advanced control and lithium-ion batteries storage, and energy efficiency in industries)
  • 23 SEACAP sites equipped with solar PV
  • 10 buildings certified to the local rating ARZ
  • 2 policy initiatives supported (Issuing of Renewable Energy Credits-RECs and Net Metering policy with EDL)
  • 7 technical publications 
  • 8 workshops conducted
  • 4 “train the trainer” trainings for professional on the 2 value chains created and 2 value chains enhanced
  • 7 communication events
  • 7 leaflets and brochures
  • 10 visibility plaques
  • 6 awareness and communication videos

GESI Component: 

Gender equality component:

CEDRO V is working on women empowerment in the energy sector under activity 1. 

Social inclusion:

Under activity 2, CEDRO V is implementing solar PV projects for municipalities that have submitted their “Sustainable Energy Access & Climate Action Plan “ SEACAP to Clima-Med, where CEDRO V is installing 23 solar PV systems for the municipality buildings, public schools, public technical colleges, public libraries, and public health care centers in these municipalities