Syrian Electricity Minister Ghassan al-Zamel speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Damascus, Syria, on May 13, 2024. As Syria's power system has suffered significant damage due to the prolonged civil war, the country is planning to develop renewable energy projects to alleviate domestic electricity shortage, Electricity Minister Ghassan al-Zamel has said. (Photo by Monsef Memari/Xinhua)
DAMASCUS, May 14 (Xinhua) -- As Syria's power system has suffered significant damage due to the prolonged civil war, the country is planning to develop renewable energy projects to alleviate domestic electricity shortage, Electricity Minister Ghassan al-Zamel has said.
In an interview with Xinhua on Monday, al-Zamel said the electricity sector has been battered by the 13-year-long war and Western sanctions, with direct and indirect losses estimated at 120 billion U.S. dollars.
"The significant losses and destruction have led to almost a collapse of the power system. We are trying to rebuild what has been destroyed," he said.
The minister pointed out that the U.S. sanctions have a particularly devastating impact on the sector, leading to a power outage lasting two to four hours per day.
The limited power supplies created a ripple effect on all relevant sectors, including industry, healthcare, education, water supplies, etc., posing a challenge to Syria's recovery from years of crisis, the minister added.
In a bid to ensure the electricity supplies and drag the country out of the aftermath of the war, "we are trying as much as possible to shift towards renewable energy," al-Zamel said, noting that the ministry is outlining a strategy to introduce up to 2,500 megawatts of solar energy and 1,500 megawatts of wind power by 2030.
The minister said his ministry is seeking to allocate lands in the desert and its vicinity to establish alternative power stations, noting that "currently, there are 100 megawatts of solar power connected to the grid."
He further revealed that Syria is working with "friendly countries" to develop renewable energy, expressing hope that wind power stations with capacities of 200 megawatts in the central province of Homs and other areas with wind potential "will be initiated soon."
"We have a decent amount of projects underway," he said, expecting the expansion of the scale of renewable energy projects in the coming years.
Despite the U.S. sanctions, which remain "the biggest obstacle to Syria's reconstruction," al-Zamel said the country would "rely on friendly countries" to rehabilitate the power system and Syria at large in the coming period. ■
