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Lebanon:
Highlighted the need to take measures for
rationalizing consumption and reducing pollution:
Syndicate of Engineers organizes
the Fifth Energy and Water Week
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THIS ARTICLE
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Date Published:
19 November 2009
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Published in:
Al-Mostaqbal Daily
Lebanon
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Original Language:
Arabic
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 View Original
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The syndicate of engineers has organized in Beirut the "Fifth Week for Energy and Water" from the 17th till the 19th of November at the "Engineer House" (Bait El Mohandes) - Be'r Hassan. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Cesar Abi Khalil representing the Minister of Energy and Water, Engineer Gobran Bassil, and head of the Lebanese syndicate of engineers Dr. Bilal El Alaily, head of the branch for consultants of the mechanical engineering at the syndicate of engineers in Beirut, Engineer Rabii Khairallah, head of the Engineers branch at the Lebanese Army Forces Nabil Abou Gouda and a number of professors and students of the faculty of engineering at the Lebanese universities.
At the outset he stated that: "Lebanon imports 98% of its energy, paying 16% of its GNP. It depends to 38% on private generators. As for our ground water it is polluted, having in some of El Beqa' areas nitrate that reaches 5 times as much as the maximum permissible percentage as per WHO (World Health Organization)."
He called for establishing the regulating authority for electricity, applying the law No. 462, issuing a law for energy and renewable energy, concentrating on rationalizing the use of energy through applying the green standards like thermal insulation of buildings, energy-saving devices, green roofs. This would save and speedily reduce our oil bill.
Followed was the address of the representative of the Lebanese Center for Energy Preservation, Hassan Saloum. He reiterated the importance of "controlling the energy scrutiny process of the legally binding projects, in addition to offering opinions on the energy consuming projects according to the provisions of the laws pertaining to procedures, issuing accreditation certificates to energy-saving electric machines and devices, proposing policies and plans, and the rationalization of energy, its efficient use, alternative and renewable energies, disseminating the national awareness of the use of technologies for preserving energy, alternative and renewable energies, in addition to contributing to scientific researches pertaining to rationalizing the consumption of energy, its efficient use and alternative and renewable energies, controlling the application of systems related to the preservation of energy and its efficient use, imposing fines according to the laws pertaining to procedures, developing the relations of cooperation and coordination between all those concerned with energy affairs, locally and abroad and between the public and the private sector to achieve the Center's objectives."
El Alaily delivered an address stating the following: "We consume great amounts of water to generate energy, and huge energy volumes to produce clean water. The environmental and hydrological restrictions are an obstacle facing increased energy production. High prices and other energy problems curb an increased water production. To this, climate change and the constant rise in oil prices makes governments seek legislation bills to motivate the use and marketing of alternative energy.
Despite the criticism expressed to the alternative energy as being intermittent, yet there is no doubt that the market is growing in a manner that would absorb its numerous forms."
El Alaily pointed out the following: "In parallel, we find a decision taken by the EU (European Union) to produce around 20% of the whole volume of produced energy in terms of alternative energy by the year 2020. This is to ease the production of CO2 that directly impacts the phenomenon of global warming."
He considered that "This dilemma with regard to both water and energy, and in spite of it being a subject of concern and debate, yet it is for us, especially the engineers, an opportunity to tackle this problem with all that we are endowed with in terms of creativity and professional know-how, especially if we would look deeply and closely, we would realize what is said about the coming days being actually days of war over water."
El Alaily drew the attention to the conventional buildings that avoid the link between buildings, their basic factors, environments and residents.
This leads to increased energy consumption and results in greater waste that negatively impacts the environment.
He added: "The basic idea is built upon adopting a more holistic view of designing buildings, so that we can preserve our resources through the use of technologies of alternative energies, for rationalizing water and energy, for reducing the production of waste, thus mitigating the effect on the environment. To be taken further into consideration is the integration of the building with infrastructure systems in the community and linking such to the public transportation network."
Abi Khalil has delivered the speech of Minister Basil stating the following: "We need a huge workshop for formulating legislations, laws and attached decrees which would shifts the work from the pure theoretical concept to actions, and would allow stakeholders of energy affairs to act independently and avoid working on the basis of trial and error, which is a method that has been prevalent for a long time. To give a clear example on such: how can we encourage the use of wind energy without prior undertaking a study on the wind atlas and without following such by the issue of laws and decrees that would serve as an umbrella for work and production."
He added: "With regard to our vision for the coming years we will overcome the modest optimism. We live in a time of opportunities that we should invest in and carefully build on without exaggeration". He pointed out that Lebanon has joined IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) and has signed its statutes. The Lebanese Center for Energy Preservation has also become a member in the Board of Trustees of RCREEE (Regional Center of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency) with headquarters in Cairo, in addition to it being the national coordinator and the executive secretariat of the Partnership between the EU and the international donor agencies, especially the "Mediterranean Solar Plan", where the Lebanese experts and stakeholders of the energy affairs have submitted thirty model projects. This is expected to attract investments to Lebanon, of which the national sector for energy and economy will benefit. It will open up the labor markets for the private sector companies and institutions, on top of which are the engineers specialized in electricity and mechanics."
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