The World Bank announced new project to finance off-grid solar systems in Yemen »to power vital basic services, and improve access to electricity for vulnerable Yemenis in rural and outlying urban areas.« Funded by a $50 million grant from IDA, the World Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries, the new project will rely on the commercial solar market, which has grown despite the conflict, providing further support to the local economy and creating jobs.

According to the World Bank, »solar power has proved to be the most immediate solution for severe energy shortages in Yemen.« A booming solar industry is driven by the private sector, »but the costs have put the technology beyond the reach of public facilities and the most vulnerable populations.« The Yemen Emergency Electricity Access Project will work with the current solar supply chain and the existing network of microfinance institutions, to finance and deliver off-grid solar systems to rural and peri-urban areas. The aim is to restore or improve access to electricity to 1.4 million people, around half of them women. The project will also fund solar power for critical infrastructure, such hospitals, schools, water corporations, and rural electricity providers.

The project will be implemented in partnership with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and in collaboration with the local private sector, including Micro Finance Institutions, solar equipment suppliers and technicians. Working with the Yemeni private sector will help create hundreds of jobs. With this new financing, IDA emergency grants to Yemen issued since July 2016 have totaled $1.183 billion.