The TFA link works fine for me, while your achive link is unviewable as it wants me to prove i'm human by scanning a QR code with my mobile device. Not sure who you're trying to help
fhdkweig 16 hours ago [-]
The original link did not work for me. It displayed the article for a couple of seconds and then popup said "register for free to continue reading this article." When I clicked on the popup's 'x', it redirected me to the front page.
gregoriol 16 hours ago [-]
It works for me, without a qr code
TulliusCicero 16 hours ago [-]
It helped me.
wat10000 16 hours ago [-]
Consider that other people have different experiences of things. The TFA link doesn't work for me (it appears to, but then it forces me to register to keep reading) and the archive link just required a standard captcha.
vishnugupta 16 hours ago [-]
Just checked out the Google map satellite view and no kidding! The solar panels are crazy! Highly recommend exploring it yourselves. Mind blowing.
moffkalast 15 hours ago [-]
Yeah there's something on almost every roof in Damascus, and Google's imagery is usually fashionably 2-5 years out of date so it's probably even more now.
adrianN 15 hours ago [-]
I wonder how they use balcony solar for blackouts. The systems I know shut themselves off if the grid goes down.
tibbydudeza 12 hours ago [-]
We had to do the same here in South Africa - 2 hourly blackouts and innovative financing packages and cheap panels and inverters from China - you pay a monthly rent to own fee and they cover the maintenance.
Nearly every third house has panels, but we don't feed back to the grid - the idiotic local authority lost the plot here and wanted to charge an enormous fee for a feedback meter.
heyitsmedotjayb 17 hours ago [-]
[flagged]
WhereIsTheTruth 16 hours ago [-]
See, Iran?
All you had to do was westernize your economy, hand your infrastructure to global capital, and open your markets
Do that, and just like Syria, you'll become "partners"
amunozo 16 hours ago [-]
Aren't all these panels coming from China anyway? Iran could do this and keep its iron grip, no?
15 hours ago [-]
alephnerd 15 hours ago [-]
> Aren't all these panels coming from China anyway
Turkiye not China in this case.
Turkiye has a large PV fabrication industry as well [0][1][2][3] and it's Turkish companies that are leading reconstruction with Qatari, Saudi, and Emirati capital [4].
The Turkish company selected for most of these projects (Kalyon Group) is also in the PV fabrication business [3] and Erdogan aligned.
Not sure if you're referring to Syria or Iran, but the article explictly states that the solar in Syria is coming from China:
"Syria’s high level of solar panels reflects the combination of a broken-down grid during its long civil war, and the sudden rush of cheap China-made panels and batteries."
amunozo 12 hours ago [-]
I did not know, cool info!
alephnerd 12 hours ago [-]
Yep. The name of the game right now in MENA is grabbing a chunk of Syria's reconstruction and development business [0] because it's a $200B bonanza [1] that can also now be connected with the IMEC bonanza [2], with Qatari, Saudi, and Emirati funds all competing against each other and leveraging EPCs and vendors that they have stakes or partnerships with across MENA, Europe, the US, and Asia.
They may also want to replace the Supreme leader with a CIA, Al-Qaeeda, ISIS and Nusra-Front veteran to get taken off the State-Sponsor-of-Terror list.
Cyph0n 12 hours ago [-]
Or intentionally repatriate colonial administrators who oversaw torture of misbehaving natives and place them in cushy government positions back in the metropole.
Or repeatedly elect ex-Irgun and Lehi terrorist leaders into the highest positions of government.
Or just Winston Churchill the hell out of it and be proud of your past crimes.
etc etc
pjc50 15 hours ago [-]
I don't think that's a reasonable description of Syria, which is more of a failed state.
But yes, generally westernizing works out better for all concerned.
throw7384844 15 hours ago [-]
Western solar panels come with subscription and remote kill switch.
Iran is trying to build grid on atomic powerplants, because solar is frankly not enough nor reliable!
Nearly every third house has panels, but we don't feed back to the grid - the idiotic local authority lost the plot here and wanted to charge an enormous fee for a feedback meter.
All you had to do was westernize your economy, hand your infrastructure to global capital, and open your markets
Do that, and just like Syria, you'll become "partners"
Turkiye not China in this case.
Turkiye has a large PV fabrication industry as well [0][1][2][3] and it's Turkish companies that are leading reconstruction with Qatari, Saudi, and Emirati capital [4].
The Turkish company selected for most of these projects (Kalyon Group) is also in the PV fabrication business [3] and Erdogan aligned.
[0] - https://cw-enerji.com/en/cw-enerji-library/cw-enerji-one-of-...
[1] - https://www.kivancsolar.com/en/corporate
[2] - https://smartsolar.com.tr/en/hakkimizda.html
[3] - https://kalyonpv.com/
[4] - https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/ekonomi/suriyenin-enerji-sektorune-...
Not sure if you're referring to Syria or Iran, but the article explictly states that the solar in Syria is coming from China:
"Syria’s high level of solar panels reflects the combination of a broken-down grid during its long civil war, and the sudden rush of cheap China-made panels and batteries."
[0] - https://www.arabnews.com/node/2649484/middle-east
[1] - https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/07/07/...
[2] - https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-901922
Or repeatedly elect ex-Irgun and Lehi terrorist leaders into the highest positions of government.
Or just Winston Churchill the hell out of it and be proud of your past crimes.
etc etc
But yes, generally westernizing works out better for all concerned.
Iran is trying to build grid on atomic powerplants, because solar is frankly not enough nor reliable!