Off-grid Solar PV Power for Humanitarian Action: From Emergency Communications to Refugee Camp Micro-grids

The need for new innovative technologies to support humanitarian action is evident today. Efficient and economic technologies properly deployed and integrated should mitigate some of the potential negative social effects of poor refugee camp infrastructure engineering. The body of the paper identifies off-grid solar Photovoltaic (PV) and solar PV hybrid packaged systems that are applicable to emergency relief activities, refugee camp activities and micro-grid development. The paper's concentration on off-grid power, the description of these engineered systems by humanitarian activity and the identification of the different engineered packaged solutions is aimed at stimulating a discussion to help scale more appropriate technologies for humanitarian action. The paper concludes with a discussion of present and future private sector business strategies to support scalability of this new and growing market.