Thanks to solar power, residents of the northern Lebanese village of Toula can finally enjoy ice cream again – a treat in a sun-drenched country plagued by power outages.

Lebanon’s economy collapsed in 2019 after decades of corruption and mismanagement, leaving the state unable to provide electricity for more than an hour or two a day.

Last winter, the mountain village of Toula barely had generator power for three hours a day.

Solar power now helps keep lights on for 17 hours, said an engineer working on the alternative energy project.

“The kids have been asking for ice cream for two years, and now the time has finally come,” says Jacqueline Younes, owner of the Toula mini market.

“We’re waiting for our first ice cream order.”

While many Lebanese depend on costly generators for electricity, more and more households, businesses and government institutions are turning to solar energy – not for environmental reasons, but because it is their only option.

Solar panels are scattered across rooftops and parking lots, powering entire villages — and even Beirut’s only working traffic light, thanks to a local NGO.

“Solar energy is no longer an alternative, it is a necessity. If we hadn’t installed panels, the village wouldn’t have electricity,” says engineer Elie Gereige, standing next to a sea of ??panels on a hill overlooking Toula.

Gereige is part of a team of volunteers who have raised more than $100,000 from Toula expatriates to build a solar farm with 185 solar panels installed on church lots.

They worked with the community to solar power the village generator, reducing fuel costs while providing electricity to the entire community.

An hour’s drive south of Toula, a branch of Spinneys supermarket is also installing panels in the car park and on the roof to reduce generator bills.

“I think solar panels will save us about half of our energy bills in Jbeil,” said Hassan Ezzeldine, chairman of Gray Mackenzie Retail Lebanon, which owns Spinneys.

The company spends between $800,000 and $1.4 million a month on electricity for its supermarket chain to power generators that run 24/7 on diesel.

“The cost of generators today is dramatic. It’s a disaster.”

For years, his company considered turning to solar power, but after the crisis, “we thought … it’s something we need to do, and we need to do it right now,” he said.

Individuals are also turning to solar power to reduce generator bills, placing panels and batteries on balconies and rooftops.

Housewife Zeina Sayegh installed around $6,000 solar power for her Beirut apartment last summer, just as the state scrapped most fuel subsidies.

She was the only one in the building with panels.

This year, nine neighbors have joined her, covering the roof with metal poles connecting dozens of panels.

She has completely converted to solar energy and has limited electricity consumption at night. But she always has electricity in the summer – a rare luxury.

“I feel more comfortable this way. I feel like I’m in control of the electricity and not the other way around,” she said.

In a country where poverty is rampant and bank savers are locked out of their accounts, installing solar power is expensive.

Many Lebanese have resorted to selling a car, jewelry or property to finance the switch.

Before the collapse of the Lebanese economy, few companies offered solar power installation services.

But high demand has opened the door for anyone to “start selling solar systems,” said Antoine Skayem of solar energy company Free Energy.

The demand from municipalities with cash problems has increased, he said.

But they are vulnerable to political interference and patronage.