Syria wants to use solar power to fix its energy crisis now that crushing sanctions have been lifted

Abdulrazak al-Jenan swept the dust off his solar panel on his apartment roof overlooking Damascus. Syria’s largest city was mostly pitch-black, the few speckles of light coming from the other households able to afford solar panels, batteries, or private generators.

Al-Jenan went thousands of dollars in debt to buy his solar panel in 2019. It was an expensive coping mechanism at the time, but without it, he couldn’t charge his phone and run the refrigerator.

Syria has not had more...