The benefits of green electricity extend much further than ‘good for the environment’. Gaza, Ukraine, Jamaica: all over the world, solar panels are making people more resilient and less dependent. For it is difficult to bomb or steal solar power. As journalist Kevin Schoenmakers writes on the site of the Correspondent.
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ince the end of 2022, Russia purposely attacks Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. They conquered a nuclear power station, destroyed a hydropower dam, and the electricity grid is a permanent target. The Ukrainian power stations can deliver just half of their nominal power. In the night of 5 to 6 December – a night that in Ukraine, comparable to the Netherlands, is supposed to be about child’s presents – Russia stroke again, with one of the heaviest air raids since the beginning of the large-scale invasion. The Ukrainian air defense couldn’t down all of the hundreds of drones and rockets. As a result, thousands were left without electricity, heat and water.
Emergency electricity
Mikolajiv too, was left in the dark – apart from the rehabilitation centre. Since half November, is being equipped with solar panels and a battery, that allows for compensation of the cutdown. But because of the winter conditions, the panels supply not enough current to completely cover the needs of the centre. But there is ample capacity to keep in use the revalidation equipment – treadmills, screens, movable beds. Washing may wait a day.
An increasing number of buildings has such equipment. Therefore, patients can still be operated upon, drinking water can be pumped and air raid shelters lit. In the West, solar panels are primarily seen as a climate solution and cost cutting, in the Ukraine they are a strategic necessity. Solar panels and batteries have seen considerable falling prices – to be paid for, even for people in need. For the people of Ukraine and in other crisis areas, green energy means flexibility, independence and human survival power.
From scepsis to long waiting lists
With drones, sabotage of energy infrastructure is easier. Blowing up a transformer in the hinterland doesn’t require expensive and risky missions with soldiers or jets. In the beginning, the Ukrainians bought diesel aggregates. They are still much in use, but they require expensive fuels and regular maintenance; and they cause noise and pollution. Therefore, many new projects use solar panels and batteries. The Ukranian organization Ecoclub helps official organizations like the rehabilitation centre in Mikolajiv. When they installed their first solar energy project in 2022, there was a lot of secpsis, says program manager Natalia Kholodova. But as the advantages became clear, there was no stopping it. ‘There is a long waiting list’, she says.
Now, many Ukrainians agree that the old energy system – where everybody is dependent on major power stations – is no longer viable. Instead, electricity should be produced in a renewable and decentralized way, after the war as well. That they would help nature in doing so, is more or less of secondary importance. ‘We reach climate goals in doing so, but we decentralize because it is a matter of survival,’ says Kholodova.
Myanmar: solar panels as source of resilience
In other countries too, where was and political instability undermine the public grid, the population keeps standing with solar energy. For instance in Myanmar, that suffers from a civil war since 2021 already. It broke out because the army took hold of the power, after having it shared with a civilian government for ten years. Already before the coup, there wasn’t enough electricity, says Guillaume de Lange, an energy expert and former advisor to Myanmar’s civil government. Since then, the situation has only got worse – because of a long-term lack of investments, gas fields being depleted and foreign energy companies that left the country.
But the situation is different now from before in the respect that China now has solar panels and batteries for sale. In towns where the junta has control, these can fill up the holes in the faltering grid. In areas in hands of the opposition, ‘sola anergy is giving some autonomy,’ says De Lange. Both resistance fighters and the population use solar panels on a large scale. If the population has got to flee – as 3.6 million people have done – they will not leave behind their panels. They even have electric power in the midst of the jungle, and can keep on communicating about where it is or isn’t safe. ‘It is a crucial source of resilience,’ says De Lange.
In Gaza, the sun shines 320 days per year
In Gaza there hasn’t been reliable electricity for decades. The only local electricity power station doesn’t operate properly from 2006 onwards, when it was bombed by the Israelis, says Hala El-Khozondar, professor in electrotechnology at the University of Gaza. Often, there were hours-long malfunctions. ‘Not having electricity goes at the expense of psychological well-being – one would like to work properly, but one cannot,’ she says.
When Israel allowed solar panels in 2016, she says, they were sold in large numbers. The potential was clear: In Gaza, the sun shines some 320 days per year. But after Hamas’s attack, Israel shut down the import of electricity, blocked the import of fuel and bombarded the Gazan infrastructure. Since then, solar energy is about Gazan’s only option, says El-Khozondar. Without solar panels, no purified water, and no charged telephones that can reach abroad – or record Israeli war crimes.
Beacons of light after a hurricane
Again, after natural disasters solar panels help. The Caribbeans are hit by hurricanes on a yearly basis. Electricity lines often are above ground and are vulnerable therefore for debris flying around. After hurricanes Maria (in 2017) and Dorian (in 2019) it took almost a year before parts of Puerto Rico and the Bahamas were connected to the grid again. After Beryl, that damaged Jamaica’s electricity supply extensively in 2024, the national electricity company made plans for reinforcements. This just started when, last October, historically strong Melissa wreaked havoc again.
In those situations, solar panels offer an outcome – provided they have been well-fastened. In Jamaica, buildings equipped with solar energy became community centres, says Ian Welch-Phillips, who worked in the Caribbeans on green energy projects for the American non-profit organization Rocky Mountains Institute. ‘People can charge their phones down there, take a hot shower, and there are hot pates that still operate,’ he says. When a hurricane has hit an island, interest in solar energy grows. For instance rescue services want to know for sure that they have electricity, especially after a disaster. For households on the other hand, lower costs are the most important reason to buy panels and a battery.
No more filling the tank at a Russian pump
A country that generates sustainable energy in a sustainable way, is more resilient than a country that needs to import gas an oil from abroad each day. The EU will stop importing Russian gas starting January 1, 2027. Then Europe stop – almost five years after the large-scale invasion of the Ukraine by Russia, and almost thirteen years after the Russian occupation the Crimea – financing Russian violence. At last. Yes, Europe supported Ukraine with 193 million Euros since 2022; but in the meantime it paid 218 million Euros at the Russian pump. It is true, since the Russian assault on Ukraine, Dutch imports of oil and gas from Russia fell considerably. But that fall has been compensated for by imports of fuels from the United States. Moreover, energy-wise we are dependent on other countries, like Norway and thew United Kingdom.
Green energy lends better energy independence. In principle, each country has enough renewable energy sources at its disposal to cover it’s own needs. Therefore, American environmental activist Bill McKibben wrote, the solar panel is ‘a peace symbol of our times’.
A solar panel will produce energy for decades
At present, much green technology, including the resources needed for them, comes from China – a country that has proven several times to be willing to reduce exports of rare earth metals. And there are worries about digital backdoors: what can be dome at a distance, with a Chinese smart meter, or with an electric bus?
But dependence on foreign suppliers is reduced by green energy. A solar panel, once installed, will produce energy for decades before it needs to be replaced. Moreover, solar panels and other green tech can be recycled. And there are alternatives for many technologies. Nowadays, many batteries are on the basis of lithium, but many other options are in development. In the course of time, we will be much better off.
Green energy in the protection against war
Moreover, consensus is breaking down that because of the climate, we should start using green energy instead of fossil fuels. President Trump loves oil and coal, the EU postpones phasing out of cars with an internal combustion engine. In the Netherlands, possibly a political party – JA21 – that would like to pump up more gas and doesn’t want to close down fossil power stations.
Polls show that Dutchmen fear climate changes less and less. But international safety is of major concern. Danger is around the corner, and therefore Europe needs to be better defended and be more independent. It would seem that protection against war and other forms of unrest have little to do with solar panels. But those who have experienced such danger, know: green energy fits perfectly the requirements.
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