Lebanon needs to overhaul the technical and legislative foundations of its chaotic electricity network to enable the country to reach a government target of generating 12 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2020. "We need a smart grid in Lebanon," Jibran Bassil, the Lebanese water and energy minister at a renewable energy forum in Beirut. The minister added, however, that the implementation of a government reform plan for Lebanon's power sector had been delayed due to insufficient preparatory work on renewable energy, demand management, and the quality and price of the country's electricity supply. "We all know that these three elements are interrelated and their proper work will lead to adopting more and more renewable energy plans," he told the forum. A recent by the management consulting firm found that most MENA-region countries had regulatory environments that discouraged renewable energy development. Nonetheless, Mr Bassil said he felt Lebanon's 12 per cent renewable energy target was achievable. "The government last week allocated US$9 million [Dh33m] for these projects. This indicates that the government is highly committed to such projects," he said. Lebanon is developing a " to help identify the best locations in the country for wind farms.