AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – Syrian refugees in Jordan’s remote desert were connected to solar power on Wednesday, making their community the world’s first refugee camp to be powered by renewable energy.
The $4.5 million (4 million euros) plant was funded by a foundation established by Ikea, the global home furnishings retailer. In the first phase, it will serve 20,000 of 35,000 people in Azraq camp.
The plant’s capacity is to be more than doubled to provide power to all residents, for an eventual cost of $9.7 million (8.75 million euros), the U.N. refugee agency said.
The investment in sustainable energy was yet another expression of the protracted nature of the Syrian refugee crisis.
Some 5 million Syrians have fled their homeland since conflict erupted there in 2011 and quickly turned into a brutal civil war.