Adoption of decentralised solar energy: lessons from Palestinian households

1754

Vanessa Kajjouni and
Walid Marrouch
May 06, 2025

The experience of Palestinian households offers a compelling case study of behavioural adaptation to energy poverty via solar water heater adoption. This column highlights the key barriers to solar energy adoption in terms of both the socio-economic status and dwellings of potential users. Policy-makers need to address these barriers to ensure a just and equitable transition, particularly for households in conflict-affected areas across the MENA region.

In a nutshell

Data collected from Palestinian households shows that apartment dwellers are less likely to use solar energy than house dwellers; this indicates that limited rooftop space is a barrier, highlighting the need for shared property rules.

Apartment homeowners are more likely to adopt solar energy than renters; this reinforces the idea that rooftop space is a constraint, as owners usually get priority for installations.

Financial limitations are an additional hurdle to the adoption of solar energy, especially for those who consider themselves poor, who have low incomes or who have many children; subsidies are essential for a fair transition.

The adoption of solar energy systems is growing in conflict-affected and politically unstable countries, particularly those in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Fortunately, solar irradiance in MENA is plentiful. According to the World Bank (2020), several countries in MENA are among the top 70 with ideal conditions for photovoltaic (PV) systems. On average, annual solar irradiance exceeds 2,000 kWh/m², making it one of the regions with the highest solar energy potential (Middle East Solar Industry Association, 2024).

On its own, high solar potential does not fully explain the rise in adoption of solar energy. Instead, high energy costs and unreliable national grids in conflict-affected and politically unstable areas force households to turn to off-grid solutions.

In Lebanon, for example, a significant shift to solar energy generation did not occur until 2020 – a year after the onset of the economic and financial crisis – exacerbating an already strained energy sector. This transition was often described as ‘individual solutions’ and ‘coping strategies’, and is therefore driven by electricity shortages rather than environmental concerns (Arab Reform Initiative, 2024a).

There are also inequalities in adoption. Factors such as limited rooftop space, financial constraints in slum communities and other structural challenges prevent some households from accessing solar energy, leaving them reliant on costly backup generators (Arab Reform Initiative, 2024b).

As in Lebanon, households in Gaza and Yemen adopt solar systems as an autonomous response to unreliable public grids (Forbes, 2023). In the Palestinian territories, this shift is particularly evident in the adoption of solar water heaters (SWHs), which are important systems for reducing energy consumption, as heating water is an energy-intensive process within the household.

According to the World Bank (2016), SWH adoption by Palestinians is the highest in the MENA region. In such contexts, ensuring a just energy transition is important. This involves addressing barriers to adoption to ensure that all households have fair access to solar energy.

Previous research has explored socio-economic and dwelling factors that influence familiarity with SWHs (Sharma, 2021), the decision to adopt them (Jacksohn et al, 2019) and actual adoption (Aydin et al, 2018). Our research (Kajjouni and Marrouch, 2025) provides robust evidence from the Palestinian territories, focusing on the adoption stage of SWHs in conflict-affected areas.

In the ‘Socio-Economic Survey, HSOCIOECOS 2020’, provided by ERF, 3,122 households – 2,104 in the West Bank and the rest in Gaza – were asked about their adoption of SWHs. Around 54% of households report having a SWH. Moreover, the average household spends 15% of its income on energy, surpassing the commonly cited energy poverty threshold of 10% (Wang et al, 2022). Among lower-income households, this figure rises to 30%, highlighting the severity of the Palestinian energy crisis.

Our results (Kajjouni and Marrouch, 2025) provide novel evidence from MENA. Compared with its developing country peers, the region has less empirical evidence on this question. We also highlight key areas of interest for policy-makers in Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and other MENA countries with similar contexts.

Households in detached houses are more likely to adopt SWHs than those in apartments. This finding highlights a significant barrier from common property issues. Detached houses provide full access to rooftops or gardens, making solar energy installations more feasible.

In contrast, shared rooftops in apartment buildings hinder adoption due to conflicts over space usage, often caused by a lack of clear regulations governing a common property. Even when households agree to install a shared system, disputes can arise over ‘free-riding’. Thus, a clear policy implication emerges; MENA governments should regulate rooftop space allocation for solar energy, similar to the way in which parking spots are assigned in apartment buildings.

The ownership of the dwelling is also important for SWH adoption. Renters often need their landlord’s approval to install systems. But our results show an interesting pattern. For houses, ownership loses significance, indicating that whether a house is rented or owned does not affect adoption. In contrast, ownership remains a key determinant for apartments – an outcome that is also due to conflicts over common property. Owners in apartment buildings often have authority over renters, which influences SWH adoption.

The lack of proper urban planning contributes to space constraints, making government intervention crucial to address this barrier to adoption. The situation requires a reconsideration of land management and use. Such changes bring benefits, including stability in households’ access to energy, especially during outages (Impact Day, 2025).

Finally, our findings on socio-economic characteristics reveal key policy implications. Household income and perceived wealth status significantly influence SWH adoption. Higher-income households and those that perceive themselves as wealthy are more likely to install these systems.

A major barrier is the number of children in a household, as larger families face higher poverty in the Palestinian territories (UNICEF, 2023) – a pattern observed in many MENA countries. Policies such as solar subsidies or interest-free loans can help to make SWH systems more accessible to these groups.

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