Refugee camp powered by renewable energy

Twenty thousand Syrian refugees that have lived for two and a half years with sporadic access to electricity now have access to affordable and sustainable energy from a newly constructed solar PV plant adjacent to their camp.

The 2 MW solar PV plant will supply power to two villages that make up Jordan’s Azraq refugee camp. It will allow each family to power a fridge, TV, fan and lighting inside their shelters – and also charge phones.

The plant is a UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) project that was funded by the IKEA Foundation’s Brighter Lives for Refugees campaign. As well as helping the refugees it will contribute to Jordan’s national energy strategy to achieve a green economy by 2020.

The Azraq camp opened its doors in April 2014 and is located in a desert area in northern Jordan. Before the introduction of the new PV plant, refugees had been living with the sole support of solar lanterns distributed on their arrival and street lights installed in one of the villages, both funded by the IKEA Foundation.

The PV plant enables UNHCR to provide electricity to Azraq camp residents free of charge. It will eventually be expanded to 5 MW, and it has provided an income opportunity to over 50 refugees who have been trained and employed to help build the solar farm under the supervision of the Jordanian solar company Mustakbal, which led the works on the site. Some of these refugees will be in charge of the maintenance works in the future.

‘Lighting up the camp is not only a symbolic achievement; it provides a safer environment for all camp residents, opens up livelihoods opportunities, and gives children the chance to study after dark. Above all, it allows all residents of the camps to lead more dignified lives,’ said UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner Kelly T Clements.