“In the beginning it was dark
What kind of sleep is this that has overcome and overtaken you?
The darkness of the night has enveloped you and you no longer hear me.”
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Predatory Darkness
In the beginning, there was darkness, according to the Epic of Gilgamesh – and now, we are returning to it. As I stand on the rooftop of a building in the slums, I prepare for the darkness that will very soon envelop me.
The pigeons begin to enter their coops a few minutes before dusk. We watch together, the pigeons and I, as darkness creeps into the city and the sun starts to fade away.
Every day, as the sun sets, Mount Qasioun gradually transforms into a hill of black coal, its details diminishing bit by bit. Even the pigeons fear the darkness, flocking anxiously to their coops, nervously shaking their heads and necks.
I pick up my belongings from the rooftop and go down to my dark abode. I will now rely on LED light until the battery depletes. I will descend to the dark refrigerator, in winter filled with humidity and in summer with hot, heavy air. When the battery dies, I will endure seven hours of darkness, the most difficult period. Darkness will conspire with the weather, amplifying its heat or its cold, until the electricity returns for an hour – a moment akin to resuscitation. Sometimes, the electricity will not come at all, or it will come briefly and erratically for only fifteen minutes.
Questions of depressing boredom haunt my mind: How will I spend these dark hours? Will the electricity come on time, or late? Mahmoud Darwish ironically eases this anxiety with his words:
If she arrives late,
Wait for her.
If she arrives early,
Wait for her.
So we live our lives in the dark, helpless and anxious, armed with flashlights and batteries in a bid to survive the hours of darkness. Our lives range from well-lit to half-lit, right down to complete darkness. Living in dim light turns our homes into burrows filled with people with myriad reasons for depression, one of which is having to live in semi-darkness.
I once read a study published by the American Institute of Mental Health which found that those exposed to dim light are more susceptible to depression than those who live in complete darkness. It is believed that the effects of light at night are greater on younger people with more sensitive eyes. According to the study, anxiety increases in people who live in the dark or in dim lighting. The absence of light digs into our souls and lets anxiety scratch them with its blade.
Allowing the darkness to consume you means being paralyzed and unable to move except when absolutely necessary, such as feeling your way to the bathroom or getting a glass of water at the expense of other activities. It is like losing one of your five senses. Even your ability to speak diminishes: it weakens as the lighting dims, and disappears as darkness descends. How can you make your voice heard without seeing any features around you? When you fall into the darkness, the walls of isolation force you to curl up within yourself; anxiety about the darkness becomes the foundation of your day’s activities. Work trickles in and efforts intensify for the Electricity Competition when it visits homes, but this activity fades as the evening sets in, reaching total paralysis as pitch-black darkness arrives.
The financial cost of warding off darkness is no longer affordable for most Syrian families. The initial cost of confronting it starts at around 350,000 Syrian pounds ($23). In a country where the average wage of government employees is 149,000 Syrian pounds per month ($10), an employee needs to save two full salaries to buy a 7-amp battery, the smallest capacity available, with a lifespan ranging from six to eight months. In its first month, it can light two LEDs for five hours.
Pearls in a Dark Swamp
I open the window curtains every hour, as if to increase the percentage of oxygen in the light which enters the room. The scarce lighting gradually dissipates the darkness that has begun to gather above my ribcage.
Here is Mount Qasioun, where small buttons of light have started to appear, white and yellow dots visible kilometers away through the shadow of complete darkness. These homes represent the stability we aspire to, those of us who move between darkness and light despite the long periods of darkness we endure. Despite the progression from dim lighting to total darkness, we still see light as a symbol of stability.
Most of these lights come from solar panels, which have become the most reliable solution to fighting the darkness, especially amid fuel crises and high prices. Installing solar panels allows people to escape the dark reality of Syria and enjoy the luxury of being less concerned about charging phones and batteries. Their schedules, bath times, and activities are no longer dependent on the sporadic electricity supply, as long as the sun keeps shining. Simply put, they can live outside the equation of “urgent crises,” the most severe of which is falling into complete darkness.
The intensity of the lights is most concentrated at the beginning of the climb to Damascus on Mount Qasioun, where “upscale” neighborhoods like Al-Muhajireen and Abu Rummaneh are located. These areas are full of diplomatic buildings, at the top of which is the Presidential Palace where Bashar al-Assad resides. As satellite images show, this building is also covered with solar panels.
Houses illuminated by solar energy have become central to our activities and social interactions – we gather around them like moths around a flame. Friends whose homes suffer from low lighting and risk falling into darkness can now meet us later at the well-lit home of a friend. The electricity crisis has begun to erode social relations, turning the most electrically stable homes into hubs of activity.
Social media networks are flooded with advertisements for homes for sale and rent. The most sought-after are those featuring amenities such as solar energy, allowing a return to the pre-2011 standard of living: when elevators worked, and electrical current flowed reliably through the veins of the home. But these homes are relatively rare, and the rent is high.
The average rent for a house in Damascus illuminated by solar energy ranges between 4 and 6 million Syrian pounds per month in areas considered “popular”, such as Bab Musalla. In the suburbs of Damascus, the rent for a house with solar energy is approximately 1.5 million Syrian pounds in Jaramana, depending on the other specifications of the house – roughly double the normal rent.
Each house requires a solar energy system consisting of eight panels. The most common types of panels are of Chinese origin and delivered to Syria through Emirati supply companies. A 450-watt panel costs about 2 million Syrian pounds, while the cost of the iron base, storage battery, and inverter is about 16 million Syrian pounds, bringing the total cost to about 32 million Syrian pounds.
Official efforts to adopt solar energy as a power source to compensate for electricity shortages began in May 2016, when solar panels were installed on the first official building, Jawdat al-Hashemi School in Damascus, funded by UNICEF under an agreement between the Ministries of Electricity and Education. This was followed by the operation of a water well in the Al-Mazraa area in Damascus, also powered by solar energy.
The National Energy Research Center, the official body responsible for alternative energy affairs, was established in 2003 under Law No. 8. Affiliated with the Ministry of Electricity, its establishment was part of the regime’s policy of economic openness. However, it has been unable to significantly promote the spread of solar energy or provide appropriate facilities to increase reliance on this alternative energy source.
Legal Environment
While writing this text, I collaborated with a lawyer in Damascus to research the foundations of the legal environment established by the regime for the solar energy sector. In his office, which overlooks several buildings in Damascus, I pointed to a number of solar panels inclined on the roofs, and said sarcastically, “They look like tourists sunbathing on the beach.”
“Yes, they are for tourists,” the lawyer, Hassan (a pseudonym), said, referring to an economic class in the country that does not suffer from the problems faced by the overwhelming majority of Syrians. “These solar panels are not for individuals. Each solar energy setup belongs to companies, tourist offices, or economic entities, the only ones capable of purchasing these panels. It has become increasingly difficult for individuals to obtain solar energy due to the high costs, despite the government’s claims of providing facilities for solar energy.”
“The media spotlight on solar energy began after 2020, following the issuance of the Caesar Act and the onset of a severe fuel crisis,” Hassan continued. “However, the legal environment for introducing solar energy to serve public utilities had started to be prepared since 2016 through two main paths:
“The first path focused on creating a legal environment for investment in the solar energy sector, following the clear official inability to secure subsidized electricity, and aimed at generating profit for the public sector and the circle of corruption within it. This path involved two key steps:
“Law No. 5, issued by the Presidency of the Republic, established a partnership between the public and private sectors, which legally supports the solar energy field. This decision allowed the private sector to manage public sector assets in various economic fields, excluding the oil sector. This law opened the door for alternatives to public electricity (state electricity) to replace the state as the sole electricity supplier.
“The new Investment Law No. 18, issued by the People’s Assembly in April 2021, grants investors a 100% exemption from profit tax from the project’s entry into investment. It also exempts investors from customs duties on imported production tools and equipment, encouraging investment in various fields, including the solar energy sector.
“The second path involved establishing a legal body to manage the investment environment, primarily by strengthening the National Energy Center. On August 24, 2021, the Ministry of Electricity issued a memorandum requesting the General Directorate of Customs to inspect and monitor the quality of electrical appliances and alternative energy equipment imported into the country. This memorandum required the prompt notification of the National Energy Research Center upon the arrival of specified electrical equipment, including alternative energy supplies, at border crossings. The Energy Research Center was granted the authority to approve the entry of these supplies only after they met specified standards.”
Monopolizing Light
After preparing the legal environment, monopolistic operations began with a decision by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers on February 7, approving a proposal presented by the Economic Committee. This agreement grants permission for laboratories, under the supervision of the Ministry of Electricity, to train and test alternative energy equipment. The National Energy Research Center will oversee these laboratories. A market survey shows that the most available solar panels are of two types, both originating from China and supplied by the UAE.
The danger of establishing energy laboratories lies not in their legal role, but in the fact that they provide a mechanism for the private sector to control the field of alternative energies under the guise of “promoting the development of the energy sector.” These laboratories are responsible for the “laser label”, which serves as a tax stamp imposed on all alternative energy supplies.
The laser label acts as a barrier to pluralism in the alternative energy sector. Wholesalers must pay a tax of 100,000 liras on each energy system purchased, and only those who can obtain the laser label can sell these materials legally. Without this label, the materials are considered smuggled and are subject to confiscation.
The preparation of the legal environment for investment in the alternative energy sector was accompanied by propaganda and motivational measures to “enter the era of alternative energy.” In 2019, the Ministry of Electricity launched what it called the 2030 Strategy, aiming to begin adopting alternative energy for electricity generation. This strategy aimed to “restore approximately half of the electrical deficit”, as electricity production currently covers only a quarter of the population’s needs. According to the Ministry of Electricity, 13.49 percent of this production is through alternative energy.
The official announcement of investment in the energy field came during Bashar al-Assad’s last constitutional oath ceremony speech in July 2021, when he stated that alternative energy “will be an area of investment in the coming years.”
The Search For External Investors
In June 2007, Syria hosted a Regional Conference for the Middle East and North Africa on renewable energy. Two years later, Germany donated solar panels to the private University of Kalamoon, marking the first solar panel installation project in the country.
Following this, in 2009, the Syrian People’s Assembly issued Law No. 3 to conserve and protect energy. This law mentioned the National Energy Research Center for the first time as a government body responsible for monitoring and implementing energy conservation projects.
In 2010, Law No. 32 was issued, allowing the private sector to invest in alternative energy projects. This was an attempt to encourage local and international private sector investment in alternative energy to generate electricity. The regime aimed to attract Arab investors and project an image of environmental awareness in Syrian government policies to the international community.
This law opened the door for partnerships and investment funds. On this basis, former Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Otari inaugurated the Syrian-Ukrainian Solar Energy Company, located within the Seronics laboratory in the Qaboun area of Damascus.
The Ukrainian side held one-third of the shares, while the Ministries of Electricity and Industry shared the remaining two-thirds. Despite these official measures to welcome solar energy, its spread remained limited, symbolizing financial satisfaction only for certain groups of Syrians. The regime’s goal was to create the impression of an environmentally friendly economic climate without making alternative energy accessible to ordinary citizens.
After the Syrian revolution, the political and economic use of the alternative energy sector became a priority. Iran was the first to invest in it, signing an agreement in September 2019 to cooperate in generating alternative energy near the industrial city of Hassia, between Damascus and Homs. The station was opened in May 2023.
The alternative energy sector began to take on a larger role in political meetings. In October 2021, the Syrian and Emirati energy ministers met to discuss “benefiting from the UAE’s experience in alternative energies.” Subsequently, the Syrian Minister of Electricity announced that the UAE had signed contracts to establish a solar power generation station in Widyan al-Rabie, near Douma, in the Damascus countryside.
The regime then moved to establish a financial fund for renewable energies through a presidential decree in November 2021, Law No. 23. The law stipulated that “the Fund has the right to accept donations from foreign countries.” Additionally, taxes were imposed on electricity bills (1%) and on oil derivatives (0.5%) to support this Fund financially.
In December 2022, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad traveled to India to hold discussions with its Foreign Minister, which included the topic of alternative energy. India expressed its support for Syria and, in July 2023, Bashar al-Assad signed Syria’s request to join the “International Union for Renewable Energy,” led by India and headquartered in the UAE. The union aims to assist member countries in empowering alternative energy and alleviating the pressure on traditional energy sources.
The Syrian regime wishes to announce that the era of solar energy in Syria has begun, but these projects are still largely theoretical. People see solar panels installed and illuminated in certain areas, but this vision is akin to impoverished people looking through storefronts, unable to access these technologies due to their high cost and the lack of effective assistance mechanisms.
As the days pass, the area of darkness grows, and our resistance to it shrinks. Solar energy comes to occupy the same space as the cooking programs we watch daily – we memorize the ingredients and learn various recipes, but we cannot obtain the cooking materials. So, I light a candle and continue browsing the benefits of solar energy and which types are best, and consider the media hype about its imminent future in Syria.
