Solar Sustenance In War-Torn Yemen
Civil War Spurs Spike in Solar Energy Use in Yemen; Sanaa residents switch to alternative energy amid power cuts and rising fuel prices
Magdi Mansoor, October 6, 2016 (Earth Island Journal)
“…[T]he ongoing war that began in 2015 between Yemen’s government and a militia loyal to the country’s former president] helped jumpstart Sanaa’s renewable energy industry…[When the] Arabic Coalition launched its airstrikes on Sanaa in the spring of 2015, the national power grid, which was then providing the city with just a few hours of electricity each day – and sometimes just a few hours a week – shut down…[and] solar energy became a measure of last resort…Today, almost every neighborhood in the capital city has several solar-installation and related businesses – sometimes outnumbering barbershops and markets…[and] sales of solar panels have increased by over 2,000 percent in the past year…Installing a medium-sized solar power system – comprising about two 150-watt panels and a 1,000 to 1,500-watt inverter – costs less than $500 and has actually proved to be less expensive than buying fuel for a generator…Solar energy has improved quality of sleep and the quality of life in general…Unfortunately, the severe humanitarian crisis that has brought about this change, makes it impossible to celebrate it as an environmental success story.” click here for more
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