The need for access to and use of safe and clean energy resources is universal. But energy access and use are often constrained in challenging socioeconomic contexts and for disadvantaged communities. There is a real risk that vulnerable rural communities worldwide will continue to be left out of whatever energy development achievements are made in their respective regions or countries. This risk is elevated for rural communities in some agriculture-based Arab countries where poverty is widespread, and the scarcity of freshwater is high and rising due to population growth and the climate crisis. Improving energy security within these communities and reducing the risk that they would be marginalized further could be achieved with a paradigm shift in supplying them with energy resources. This shift would entail a robust and sustained expansion in decentralized solar energy development within these communities.