Solar panels for our refugee food bank

Historically, most of the electricity used in Moldova was produced by free gas from Russia. That completely changed when the conflict in Ukraine intensified in 2022. Since then, Moldova has been making a quick transition towards energy independence, and local, renewable sources are a big part of that puzzle.

In early spring, we finally installed 40 kW of solar panels on the roof of our refugee food bank. After months of planning and wiring, they’re up there now — rows of clean, silent potential. Enough to power fridges, ovens, forklifts, events… maybe even our indoor greenhouse (on a good day). But it’s not just about keeping the fridge cold and the bread warm.

To help build capacity we teamed up with WECF organized a series of workshops, about designing and installing systems based on solar panels, both residential and commercial, turning the installation of rooftop panels into a real-world lab, especially for women looking to get more confident with tools, tech, and the fast-changing green job market.

The panels we’ve installed so far are able to cover most of our core operations. We’d love to go further: expand into food drying and processing, space cooling and heating, power our entire facility, and even feed excess energy back into the grid — to make our small but real contribution to Moldova’s energy mix. So we’re planning to add more panels not only to the roof, but even mount some on solar trackers — devices that follow the sun across the sky to squeeze out every watt the day has to offer.

That all sounds good, right?

Well… here comes the hammer.

The panels are up there right now, soaking up sun and quietly producing electricity. The problem? We can’t use it yet. Not a single watt.

Because unless you can run that power through the grid — or store it in an expensive off-grid battery system — it just sits there, unused.

For the past six months, we’ve been battling bureaucracy — trying to get authorization to feed our energy into the national grid. But the country’s only energy provider keeps telling us there’s “no capacity to receive renewables in your district.”

That’s partly due to outdated, weak infrastructure — the local distribution nodes just aren’t strong enough. But it’s also a matter of reserved feed-in permits: most of the available capacity on paper has already been claimed by large investment groups. Some of those projects exist only in theory, but still block the path for everyone else.

So here we are — with a fully installed, working solar system… and no reasonable way to use the energy it generates.

We’ve reached out to the Ministry of Energy. We’ve written to the national energy authority. We’ve pinged inboxes, waited, followed up, waited again. Still no green light.

We’re currently weighing whether to shift toward an off-grid system with batteries, but that comes with real downsides: high cost, questionable environmental impact, and a quiet heartbreak at watching clean energy go unused while the grid needs it most.

So for now, we’re waiting — along with others on the feed-in list. But not forever.
If things don’t move soon, we may need to take a stand.

Because whether we’re baking bread, charging forklifts, or running workshops under the solar roof — we believe power should flow.

Thank you, to everyone who’s helped get us this far.

With care,

Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine Katalyst has been a primary resource.

The first months were very confusing. Yey we quickly evolved towards increasing the volume of donated food, setting up a functional registration and documentation system, stabilzing our logistics, focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables, then towards a zero-waste distribution style.

Even after 2.5 years we still prepare healthy food bought from local producers, and deliver to thousands of families every week. We remain the last standing refugee food bank in Moldova.

Check out interviews with some of the people who come regularly to us to pick up their vitamins: click here to watch interviews

Another way Katalyst evolved was to develop a process that allows clients to check themselves in or make an appointment, because having more control makes a big difference when you’re far from home. 

We designed our own app which has reduced waiting time, simplified the check-in process and contributed to a more fair and disciplined distribution of food. Even though it's just a few clicks, sometimes elderly need a little assistance with operating the app during their first visit. We appreciate that over 2,5 years a culture of mutual support has emerged at our distrubutions, so they are not left behind. 

Since last year we've been designing and implementing courses that help those who suffered from forced displacement re-orient their professional path and get rapidly adjusted to the needs of the local job market. Because you can give a fish, or you can teach how to fish. 

This spring we launched a new vocational program for women to learn basics of construction and repairs. 

Topics range from architecture to woodwork, masonry, insulation, even plumbing, giving participants a basic understanding of all dimensions of construction.

Because one day the dust will settle, and our visitors from Ukraine will return home to rebuild their homes, schools and communities. And giving them practical skills while they are here, not only builds confidence, but helps them focus on the horizon.

Our plans for solar panels for the refugee food bank have been finally taking shape. We've been working with an engieneer to design a photovoltaics system for our refugee food bank and if everything works out according to the plan in the next report you'll see over 100 panels installed.

Thank you GlobalGiving and all our individual donors for your trust and support!

Links:

• evolution in our food distributions
• building confidence, developing communities
• teaching "how to fish", challenging stereotypes