The challenge
This region in Turkey is under significant pressure owing to the war in Syria that has been ongoing for years. Osmaniye hosts a large number of Syrian refugees whose living conditions – akin to those of the local Turkish population – are difficult. Creating opportunities to train, work and produce food is intended to sustainably improve the situation in the long term.
For SUNfarming, the main source of income from this food and energy plant comes from the sale of electricity. While the project’s power-generation component is financially viable for the company, the training and agricultural activities do not form part of its core business and so only benefit the company indirectly at most.
With its attractive combination of clean energy, training and working opportunities, and affordable food, SUNfarming is building its reputation while gaining important insights that will help upscale this innovative approach. Furthermore, training and employment provide a financial boost to the people in the region, which ultimately also benefit SUNfarming as an electricity supplier.
Project approach
From 2019 to 2021, the following measures with a total volume of around four million euros were implemented under the develoPPP programme:
- Planning and installation of a solar plant for training, and creation of training facilities
- Construction of chicken coups and vegetable plots, including installation of a sustainable and water-saving drip irrigation system
- Training refugees and locals in agrisolar production or as photovoltaic professionals
- Organising one-week basic courses with 50 to 60 participants a week
- Training technical staff to take over training and management measures after the project ends
- Drawing up a concept for marketing food grown in the refugee camp and surrounding communities
The project has collaborated with the immigration authorities responsible for refugee care and with the director of the refugee camp on site in order to align its activities as close as possible with local conditions and needs.
With the SUNfarming Food and Energy Project, we aim to show that solar parks can do more than just produce electricity. Using the land for agriculture and protecting the soil against erosion and from drying out, while providing training opportunities and creating jobs makes for a holistic concept which we intend to multiply in the region and also in Syria moving forward. Furthermore, we believe it offers interesting solutions for many different challenges on the African continent especially.
Results
This project has afforded SUNfarming key insights for scaling up its food-and-energy approach as profitably as possible and for combining other planned energy projects in Turkey and Africa with similar training and food production components.
The local population and Syrian refugees benefit from the project because they
- are able to acquire technical skills and find employment.
- produce food on otherwise non-agriculturally used sites, enabling them to improve their nutritional status.
Moreover, Syrian refugees will be able to apply the know-how they acquire following a possible return home.
develoPPP Classic
develoPPP Classic is aimed at medium-sized and large companies that want to invest sustainably in a developing or emerging country and expand their operational activities locally. Suitable projects receive technical and financial support of up to two million euros in public funding.
Project partners
