Despite years of economic and social exhaustion due to war that has increased in frequency since Houthi fighters took control of the capital, Sanaa, in the summer of 2015, creative models for recycling waste to produce energy have emerged in Yemen.

The war has contributed to the deterioration of one of the poorest countries in the world, erasing two decades of growth gains, as Yemen ranked 153rd out of 189 before the conflict escalated in 2015.

Development indicators declined as the conflict continued, worsening to 183 in 2020.

Yemen suffers from serious environmental degradation, especially the accumulation of waste and its non-treatment, which has negative consequences for the environment and the health of the people, but there are efforts and projects to solve the problem in generating energy and benefit from the waste. Al-Ain News tracks this report.

Before many creative initiatives were launched, approximately 60% of household waste was not disposed of, and most of these piles ended up on streets in cities and in some areas in valley drains.

For example, in Al-Mahra Governorate, waste becomes a hazard when it rains. During the rainy season, flowing streams wash waste away and accumulate in the drains, blocking the flow of water. Farms and houses nearby.

Hodeida project

“I felt positive! This job helped me secure an income to cover the costs of fuel, food and other basic items for my family,” said Omar, 37, who was displaced from his home during the conflict and moved his family. Power in his governorship.

Omar hasn’t had a regular job since his displacement, but the project has changed his life and the money has helped him organize his income and put food on the table for his family.

The city of Hodeidah, like other cities in Yemen, has been affected by the war, including waste disposal and electricity supply, at a time when the city suffers from high levels of unemployment and, worse, the inability to dispose of waste. Safely transmits deadly diseases like dengue fever and malaria.

Hodeidah produces more than 350 tons of waste per day – or 990 cubic meters – but with the limited capacity of the relevant authorities, they are unable to manage the waste in the city and dispose of half of it.

Without regular and safe ways to dispose of domestic and industrial waste, it piles up and fills the streets, causing severe obstacles that citizens must cross with caution during their daily movements.

In 2020, the United Nations Development Program developed an innovative plan to not only dispose of solid waste in the West Bank city of Hodeidah, but also to use that waste to generate electricity in a country that desperately needs it.

The project will ensure safe and clean energy for the local community and help reduce waste piled up on the streets, which often leads to outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The project addresses three key issues in Hodeidah:

– Creating employment opportunities for the affected people in the city, helping them to survive in a very difficult period and acquire valuable skills.

– Creating bioenergy for the city by reusing solid waste, an environmentally friendly way to generate renewable energy.

– Encouraging local communities, the private sector and governments to accelerate innovative and sustainable livelihood and environmental sustainability solutions.

Lodge station

In September 2021, the United Nations, together with partners, implemented an initiative to establish Yemen’s first waste-to-energy plant in Laj Governorate in the south to safely dispose of waste and generate energy at the same time. .

Muhammad Sallam, a renewable energy expert at the United Nations Information Center, United Nations Development Programme, is part of a project to support livelihoods and food security in Yemen, in its second phase, the first phase of which is to improve resilience in Yemen.

Salam pointed out that the plan has four components: livelihoods, social cohesion, local governance and energy.

A United Nations Development Program official said the waste-to-energy initiative is one of the activities within the second goal, and the effort focuses on two key points, the first being the energy problem in Yemen and the second solid. Waste problem.

He explained that the initiative is essentially a joint venture between the private and public sector. The private sector is working to manage and operate the station, where major collection points collect waste from its primary sources and then send it to the station. Around seven or eight solar-powered tuk-tuks were provided to the station and its beneficiaries as the initiative moves away from fossil fuels and uses green sources.

The waste is transported via tuk-tuk to the sorting team located at the station itself, and the sorting team sorts the waste separately for each category, then weighs and sells it.

Solar energy in Eden

Yemen is located in the center of the global solar belt and is considered one of the richest countries in solar energy.

Yemen is witnessing the implementation of a new solar energy project, one of the first renewable energy projects connected to the public electricity grid in Yemen.

The Aden station is expected to be the largest solar power plant in Yemen, which has begun to move towards clean energy generation to meet the electricity needs of its citizens in light of rising fuel prices and the obsolescence of traditional power plants.

On December 21, 2022, Yemen, represented by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, signed a project implementation agreement with the Emirati “Mastar” Future Energy Company.

Local Yemeni media published images revealing the scale of the Emirati-funded achievement of the solar photovoltaic power station in Aden.

According to local reports, the excavation work has been completed and steel pillars have been installed on the ground, along with a large part of the network set up to carry the solar panels.

In March 2023, the first materials needed to build the station arrived in Aden, provided by the United Arab Emirates.

The solar power plant will have a capacity of 120 megawatts, the official Yemen News Agency reported.

On December 21, 2022, the Yemeni government signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to establish a 120 MW solar power plant in the temporary capital, Aden (South).
Yemeni cities, especially Aden, have seen many protests against the electricity blackout, which has doubled human suffering.

Renewable energy in Yemen

Work continues in Yemen with the support of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, in cooperation with international development organizations and the private sector, to support the rebuilding of waste recycling plants and to provide soft and white color by encouraging those interested in this activity. Credits, and think about the process of benefiting from waste treatment in energy production.

The context of renewable energy in Yemen has emerged as one of the most important solutions for the electricity sector, which has been greatly affected by the decline in production and the increase in the number of hours of power outages.

In 2022, Yemen signed an agreement to implement projects using renewable energy. Many of those governorates have new solar energy projects.

As part of efforts to make more use of internal energy and natural resources, the project was called “Using Renewable Energy to Improve Living Standards in Yemen” in 5 governorates. In light of major crises related to power and water sectors.

The Saudi program for development and reconstruction of Yemen, the Arab Gulf Fund for Development (AGFUND), is participating in the $2.1 million project, in addition to the Silah Foundation for Development.

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