Azraq refugee camp continues to embrace clean energy

Jordan

Published: 2018-09-21 12:48

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 16:50


The whole camp population will now benefit from regular access to clean energy.
The whole camp population will now benefit from regular access to clean energy.

The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, inaugurated on Thursday a new extension of the solar plant in Jordan’s Azraq Syrian Refugee Camp.

Funded by the IKEA Foundation, the first phase of a 2 megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) farm was inaugurated in May 2017 and brought renewable power to a population that lived for two and a half years without electricity.

Thanks to the newly constructed solar plant and electricity grid extension, the whole camp population will now benefit from regular access to clean energy.

The Azraq’s solar farm is the first to be built in a refugee setting in the world, and its benefits have been life-changing for the camp residents. Prior to its construction, the lack of electricity made even daily activities difficult, such as cooking, washing clothes, studying or walking safely to the washroom at night, especially for women and children.

Now, solar power provides affordable and sustainable electricity to at least 40,901 Syrian refugees living in up to 10,470 shelters. Each family can have light inside the shelter, connect essential appliances such as fridges and fans, and charge their phones, an invaluable resource to keep in touch with relatives and friends abroad.