Clean power for refugees

In Jordan, the world's largest photovoltaic plant built for a refugee camp has begun operating. The Za'atari camp is currently home to some 80,000 refugees from Syria. Families and households there can now access electricity for up to 14 hours a day, an increase from the previous eight hours. KfW Development Bank provided EUR 15 million of financing on behalf of the German Federal Government. The opening ceremony was attended by Lara Al Faisal, Princess of Jordan, and Joachim Nagel, Member of the KfW Executive Board, among others.

Za'atari is one of the world's largest refugee camps and home to a number of schools, hospitals and small shops. The new photovoltaic plant, which was built in just six months, will help to significantly improve living conditions for the people there. There is more power to cool food; children will no longer have to do their homework in the dark; phones can be charged without any problems and effective street lighting improves safety in the camp.

Power and employment for refugees in Jordan

Until now, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, which runs the camp, was responsible for paying for the electricity, the costs for which sometimes rose above USD 800,000 per month. Due to a lack of funding, the electricity was regularly turned off for periods of time. However, the region is well suited to a solar power plant due to the high levels of sunlight. Thanks to the new photovoltaic plant, UNHCR is now saving around EUR 5 million per year, a sum that can instead go towards further improving living conditions in the camp. During the construction period, around 75 refugees gained employment, earned money and attained new professional skills. The aim is to continue employing Syrian refugees for the running of the plant.

The plant, which is made up of around 30,000 solar panels, is also helping to protect the climate: it saves around 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year. It is therefore making an important contribution to Jordan's goal of producing around 20% of its power from renewable energy by 2025.