Zaatari camp to go green with largest solar plant built in refugee settlement

AMMAN — Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp is planning to go green with the inauguration of a 12.9 megawatts solar plant next Monday, aimed at bringing affordable and sustainable energy to around 80,000 Syrian refugees and the host community. 

The 15-million-Euro project, which is funded by the government of Germany through the KfW Development Bank, will be the largest ever solar plant built in a refugee camp worldwide, a statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

The construction of the solar plant saw the participation of many refugees from the camp.

Once inaugurated, the plant will allow the UNHCR to provide more hours of electricity to refugees’ homes, the statement said.

The initiative comes in line with the Jordan national energy strategy, which aims at generating 10 per cent of the country’s energy through renewable sources by 2020. 

The launch, scheduled for November 13, will be attended by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh, UNHCR’s representative to Jordan Stefano Severe, and representative of the German embassy Mairo Stumm, among other accompanying delegations, the statement concluded.