{"id":13378,"date":"2020-06-03T08:54:15","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T06:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.esmt.berlin\/voices\/?p=13378"},"modified":"2023-05-03T15:52:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T13:52:33","slug":"what-everyone-forgets-about-solar-energy-in-displacement-settings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.esmt.berlin\/voices\/what-everyone-forgets-about-solar-energy-in-displacement-settings\/","title":{"rendered":"What everyone forgets about solar energy in displacement settings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By <\/em>Oliver Behr<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Karl Luis Neumann<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy improves safety, security, productivity, and health in refugee settlements. Considering the environmental impact, solar energy is a key technology to establish clean and sustainable long-term energy supply in displaced settlements. Although access to solar devices has increased in recent years, their long-term operation and maintenance are often overlooked. This report takes a market-based view to develop a voucher system that facilitates the transition to a sustainable use of solar energy at refugee camps while fostering the economic inclusion and empowerment of refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Refugee camps transition to clean, renewable energy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One person becomes displaced\u00a0every 2 seconds\u00a0\u2014 less than the time it takes to read this sentence. Worldwide, there are at least\u00a071 million people\u00a0who have been forced to flee their homes. Nearly 26 million people have crossed national borders and are not able to return home safely. These concerning figures have\u00a0steadily increased\u00a0over the last years and will likely continue to do so with climate change and armed disputes putting further pressure on the global community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the majority of refugees reside in urban settings, there is a large number of refugees that live in managed refugee camps \u2014 or displacement settlements \u2014 which are mainly located in the global south. For most of these refugees, displacement is not a temporary experience.\u00a0Almost half of all current refugees have been displaced for over ten years and remain in displacement settlements for an average of 17 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In light of these developments, the role of humanitarian agencies such as UNHCR and its implementing partners has evolved significantly. In addition to the provision of short-term, temporary emergency relief, they need to manage the displacement camps following a long-term strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure the situation in displacement settlements is working and improving in the long term, energy access is particularly important. Effective energy distribution\u00a0relates to all camp activities and basic necessities: pumping and treatment of clean water; heating; cooling for food storage; cooking; energy for livelihood and economic activities; and provision of light for schooling, hospitals, and the prevention of violence against women and children. Based on these significant beneficial aspects, most experts agree that energy access in these camps is a basic need and key to overcoming poverty, increasing livelihood, and resolving environmental degradation. However, most displaced settlements lack such basic energy supply as they are often not connected to the national energy grid of hosting countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, these off-grid camps predominantly rely on decentralized fossil-based energy sources, such as diesel generators which are\u00a0highly unsustainable\u00a0both from an economic and environmental perspective. UNHCR has recognized this and launched a\u00a0Sustainable Energy Strategy<\/em>\u00a0in response which promotes the transition to clean energy in the humanitarian context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Science in HD<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On-site solutions, based-on renewable sources are increasingly available and affordable, as well as clean and climate-safe. In recent years, humanitarian agencies, social startups, corporations and NGOs have started to introduce solar-based systems into the camps, wherever the environmental conditions are favorable for the use of solar systems (e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa). For example, big solar panels are used in combination with diesel generation to form a mini-grid that supplies camp-wide infrastructure, such as water pumps, streetlights, and social institutions. Additionally, many households have gained access to smaller solar systems that enable them to electrify their homes. Examples include solar lanterns that allow camp inhabitants to light their shelters or to charge mobile phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A considerable number of such devices originate from donors and are distributed by NGOs and humanitarian agencies to households, often without a charge. However, simply donating such devices has discouraged the establishment of an operation and maintenance infrastructure. As long as new devices are distributed for free, there is no incentive to handle donated devices with care or to repair them. Therefore, camp authorities and humanitarian agencies started to promote market-based structures in displacement settings. These include new ways of delivering energy devices to households through market-based mechanisms (solar devices for purchase, e.g. Payasyougo business models).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem: Insufficient technical knowledge about solar devices and limited repair infrastructure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Looking at automobiles is worthwhile to understand why market-based approaches are particularly important in the context of solar energy systems. Whenever a car breaks down somewhere around the world, car owners can either apply quick fixes themselves or get support from a local expert. Such car repair knowledge and infrastructure can be found throughout the world, given the economic attractiveness of running such repair shops. This enables people to operate and maintain cars nearly everywhere around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Steve Johnson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Such infrastructure is not available for solar devices, particularly not in displacement settings. Today, humanitarian actors in displacement settings are largely concerned with the procurement and distribution of solar devices, not with operating and maintaining them. As a result, knowledge about the operation and maintenance of solar devices is rare, and repair infrastructure overwhelmingly does not exist. This lack of knowledge and infrastructure originates from the missing system-thinking (only procurement) and a lack of market-based approaches to distribute solar devices. This is a key challenge towards a sustainable solar energy system in displacement settings which specifically affects households in the camp. They often receive or purchase new solar devices, but do not receive any operations and maintenance support. As a result, the incorrect use of solar devices is common and households are often left with broken devices. This is further complicated by the household\u2019s low disposable incomes and the limited resources they can spend on repair work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Altogether, this leads to a reduction of the developmental and social impact solar devices could potentially bring about. Most experts and scholars agree with the fact that while humanitarian organizations have increased the deployment of renewable energy systems to support infrastructure in refugee settlements, more attention to proper operation and maintenance is\u00a0needed to fully capitalize on the benefits. This leads to the question of how to set up a system that fosters the transfer of solar device-specific technical knowledge to displacement settings while encouraging economic repair activity and infrastructure at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing a solar repair voucher system<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One possible solution to this challenge is a voucher-based system deployed by humanitarian agencies. Such a system<\/p>\n\n\n\n