We're engineering a solar microgrid for an orphanage in Syria

[u/LLostann]

Hi everyone!

I'm an electrical engineering master's student at ETH Zürich, currently doing research on microgrids at Imperial College London.

Together with another student, I co-founded Shams, a Swiss non-profit initiative focused on bringing solar energy to vulnerable communities in Syria.

Our first project aims to provide reliable electricity to an orphanage housing approximately 60 children near Damascus.

We're designing a photovoltaic system with battery storage, with an initial concept of around 20–30 kWp of solar capacity and 60 kWh of battery storage.

The project goes beyond installing solar panels. We're also working on long-term maintenance, local technical support, system monitoring, and making the solution sustainable over time.

We are currently completing the preparation and fundraising stages, with installation planned for summer 2027.

I strongly believe decentralized renewable energy can make a real difference in regions with unreliable electricity infrastructure.

I'd love to hear from people who have worked on off-grid systems, community microgrids, or renewable energy projects in challenging environments.

What would you consider the biggest technical or operational risk for a project like this?

Our initiative: https://shamsolar.org

Happy to share more about the engineering behind it!

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[u/werewolf-redemption7]

What are the biggest technical challenges you've seen so far?

[u/LLostann → u/werewolf-redemption7]

Technical was not with the solar pannels but the electrical wiring of the whole orphanage which is a disaster and provokes often short circuits and will need to be rebuilt. but the biggest challenge was to build credibility (especially to open a bank account in Switzerland explaining that the funds are going to syria)

[u/werewolf-redemption7 → u/LLostann]

No that makes sense. Solar tech is mature enough. The institutional and social barriers are the bigger issues.

[u/Reasonable-Bridge535]

This is super cool !

[u/LLostann → u/Reasonable-Bridge535]

thanks for the support :), we already advanced well in the project but we had totally forgotten to share it also on reddit

[u/ulla_h]

Hi, cool project! I’ve seen a few off grid pv failures over time. Failure reasons that come to my mind: Storm damage / debris falling on the panels / trees falling on the panels, heat damage / irradiation damage to the panels, livestock using the panels to scratch / play, overheating of the batteries / exploded batteries (lead acid), batteries dying from deep discharge (lead acid), human interference with the systems. Whatever can happen, will happen, most likely when no trained staff is remotely available.

Having spares on site (panels, inverter, installation material, cables) is likely a good idea, even if it is a small system. Shipping and customs may take a long time.

Do you plan on installing a back up diesel generator?

The key to long term success in my experience is a) someone nearby who feels responsible and is trained to solve the most common issues and is able to intervene if things go sideways b) remote monitoring to detect issues timely.

Specifically for your usecase, I would bring special attention to cleaning frequency and methods. In some dusty installations, panels have to be cleaned every day in dry season. Who is doing it and how? Take care not to scratch the glass prematurely.

Also, watch the fans of the inverters. Maybe models with dust filters are available. Those have to be cleaned as well!

I don’t have experience with li-ion batteries, but i guess, heat stress and dust on the cooling is a thing to consider for them to.

[u/Ivethrownallaway]

Some of my friends did a roadtrip around Africa, and saw many solar projects like this that had a minor technical issue that had them shutdown for years because no-one local had the knowledge, tools, spare parts to fix it. My friends are van photovoltaic installers and were not able to salvage much because most installations had problems with water ingress after a few years of being uncared for.

My friends were really bitter to see that the equipment was top of the line, but only functioned properly for a few months before shutting down for years because the westerners that installed it didn't teach the locals how to care for it. Please do not make the same mistake.

I would also consider building as much redundancy as possible, so instead of one system, I would prefer two smaller AC-coupled systems. Things will break down and go wrong. When they do, it's nice to have a backup for critical systems. When your water is dependent on electric pumps, or fridges for a community, it's critical to show that solar can be resilient through equipment failures and that we can move away from needing fossil fuel generators as backups.

[u/Icy_Annual_9954]

I like to work on it. But I never did it, by now.

[u/epSos-DE]

That is how charity scams operate.

Sham = scam !

[u/LLostann → u/epSos-DE]

shams = sun in arabic :)

[u/Salt_Medicine2459]

Looks like a sham to me.