Syria opens its first solar powered hospital

Solar energy is helping to save lives in Syria by providing a more reliable power supply

A hospital in Syria can run for up to 24 hours on renewable power, thanks to the installation of 480 solar panels.

Six years of civil war has destroyed many of the country’s hospital buildings and decimated the electricity infrastructure. As a result, the vital medical services that remain are reliant on diesel power, which puts them at the mercy of fuel shortages and price spikes.

The solar project was desperately needed. Many patients have died from simple power outages

“Incubators, respirators and other life-saving equipment need stable access to power,” said Dr Anas Al Kassem, chairman of Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), who set up the Syria Solar project. “Many patients have died from simple power outages. The solar project was desperately needed. I am overjoyed that the project is running at full capacity and saving lives.”

The hospital’s new power system was fully operational from early June after ten weeks spent installing and testing it. The project is expected to save an average of 7,000 litres of diesel per month, amounting to 20-30 per cent of the hospital’s monthly energy costs.

As a result of the project’s initial success, another five hospitals could soon get panels, say those at UOSSM.

Source: Positive News