The world faces a growing humanitarian challenge: over 80 million people are now forcibly displaced from their homes by multiple crises and protracted conflicts (UNHCR, 2021). Over 26 million people have been forced over borders as refugees and 45 million people are internally displaced within their countries. Within this context, displaced people lack access to clean cooking solutions and are often not able to access modern electricity to meet their needs. The realities of living without modern access are extreme (Mercy Corps and GPA, 2020). Many people still cook over three-stone fires using firewood and live in the dark at night. Small enterprises run by displaced people are not able to access the energy
they need to run their businesses, provide local jobs, or drive local economic development. Community facilities such as schools, hospitals, WASH facilities, and refugee community spaces are without reliable power. Humanitarian facilities, offices, compounds and registration spaces use expensive and polluting diesel fuel. These factors reduce the quality of life of refugees and displaced people, cause financial and environmental pressures on humanitarian agencies and host communities, and contribute to global climate emissions (UNHCR, 2019; UNITAR, 2018).
